After School Detention
by koolawantxox4u
Summary: Isabella may have gotten more than she bargained for when she moves to teach first grade at an elementary school in the heart of Los Angeles. All human Rosella. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer; obviously I am not the owner of Twilight. If I were, I would be chilling on an island somewhere.**

 **Not beta'd all mistakes are mine.**

 **Longer AN at the end.**

"Mom I want to go back to Forks," Nessie repeats for the billionth time just that evening and Isabella does her absolute best to curb the oncoming frustration toward her six year old daughter.

"I know you do sweetheart, but this is the best move for us right now. I have a new, better paying job at your new school which means we get to spend more time together." She pauses in her conversation momentarily to check for any oncoming cars before making a right on red. "There's nothing left for us in Forks," she adds quietly; mostly to herself.

"Daddy is."

Isabella inhales sharply. One glance in the rearview mirror reveals the little girl pouting in her booster seat; tiny fingers fiddling with the handmade stuffed wolf her father had given her last Christmas. Of course the mother had thought the deformed this belonged in the trash, but her daughter absolutely refused to let it out of her sight for even a second.

She taps the steering wheel in thought. She hated to see her youngest, and only, child like this but when a new job opportunity open up in Los Angeles with better pay and hours she had to take it. "Nessie I already promised you that you could spend Christmas break with daddy. Remember?" The brunette tried again to console her daughter.

"Yeah I remember," she mumbles under her breath. "But it's so far away from now."

Isabella worries her bottom lip when the car's inhabitants share a tense silence.

"Ok, since it's your last day of summer vacation how about we visit the coffee shop you like so much? I'll let you order whatever you want."

"Whatever I want?"

"Within reason," the brunette playfully scolds.

Nessie is quiet for a moment as she appears to mull her mothers offer around in her head. Finally, the corners of her mouth begin to quirk into a hesitant smile. "Ok."

Isabella can't help but to mirror her smile as she makes the U-turn necessary to head over to the other side of town. Even though she had been settling into the dry California air for two weeks, it never ceases to amaze her how barren this landscape was compared to the lush forest of Washington. Isabella would be lying to herself if she said she didn't miss Forks as well. But as a mother, she felt she did not have the luxury to complain about leaving everything behind. She had to be strong; for her daughters sake.

"Alright everyone out," she made it to the cafe in record timing for it was not quite rush hour yet. Nessie did not need to be told twice as she practically rips out of her seatbelt, out the car, and into the small shop.

Isabella opens her mouth to scold the little girls impatience but quickly decides against it. She would let it slide for today.

"Well, if it's not my favorite six year old in the whole entire world!" The barista, Jane, exclaims from behind the counter. Nessie was already well aquatinted with the high schooler that was seemingly never not at work. "Hi Ms. Swan. Great to see you two again, what can I get for you?"

"As promised," the young mother gestures to her only child, "whatever she wants."

"Within reason," the little girl cheekily parrots.

Isabella watches her order a few cake pops and a small hot chocolate, all the while the little girl looks back to make sure she is not overstepping her boundaries. Isabella nods in approval to everything Nessie had asked for.

"Thanks mom! You're the best mom in the world!"

Isabella chuckles out loud while she searches for her wallet in the over packed purse. "I'm not so sure about that, you only seem to say that when I'm buying you something you want." She finally finds the missing item and quickly pays for the food while silently apologizes to Jane the small line that had formed behind them.

She instructs Nessie to take the tray to any table of her liking so that she could grab napkins and sugar packets. She had only turned her back for a second to put her wallet away when she heard the sound of a clattering tray, and the distinct voice of her child's rambling apology. On instinct she all but sprints to the other side of the cafe to investigate what had happened.

There, in the middle of the floor stood her daughter with tears in her eyes, and a _very_ pissed off blonde glaring in her direction. The other woman was tall, but not overtly so, with blonde hair pinned in an intricate low bun, piercing steel eyes flicking angrily between the two, and full lips pressed into a thin line. On closer inspection Isabella could see the remains of the hot chocolate on the, expensive brand looking, skirt that adorned long slender legs.

"Are you going to sit there and ogle at me the entire time," the other woman spats, roughly bringing the young mother out of her thoughts.

She furrows her eyebrows in an attempt to not become upset at this woman's curt words. It had been her daughter who spilled the hot beverage on her, after all. She supposed that anger was a fully justifiable reaction given the circumstances.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I'm sure she just wasn't paying attention to where she was going and I know she didn't mean it. I have some napkins here I can use to help you clean it up if you would like?"

The woman seemed to do the impossible by looking even more pissed off by her proposition. If looks could kill Isabella was sure she would have been struck down at this very moment.

"Napkins? Do you have any idea how much this material costs? I'd tell you to replace it but something tells me that you may not be able to afford it," she sneers looking down her nose at the brunette.

Isabella can feel her proverbial hackles rising. "Again, we're sorry. If you wish for me to buy you a new one I can." She retorts, just barely keeping her temper under control. Normally, she was very slow to anger. Having children tended to grant one with enough patience to deal with just about anyone. Something about this woman's demeanor, however, was rubbing her the wrong way.

The woman looks the pair over once more before scoffing. "Forget it."

Isabella doesn't look up until she can no longer hear the sound of the blonde's heels clicking against the floor.

"I'm so sorry, she comes in from time to time and has never been particularly well mannered," Jane apologizes as she moves around the counter to assist the young mother in cleaning up.

"I'm sorry mom, I swear it was an accident." The little girls bottom lip trembles as unshed tears threaten to spill.

"It's ok it was nobody's fault," she addresses both Nessie and Jane. "Accidents happen. But can if you can, may I get these to go? I don't think we'll be eating here tonight."

"Of course."

* * *

"Nessie we're going to be late," Isabella shouts exasperated from down the hall as she applies her makeup in a hurry. After their little run in yesterday the young mother held a movie marathon with all of her daughters favorites to help improve her mood about starting the first grade. Consequently, it meant that she had stayed up well past bedtime and Isabella was, by no means, a morning person.

"I'm already ready." Nessie leans against the frame of the door not bothering to disguise the amusement in her large brown eyes.

The young mother touches up her lipstick for the last time. "Good, good that's great. Do we have everything? Bookbag? Summer reading? Lunch?" The brunette rattles off from the mental list she was trying to recover on the morning haze.

The young girl nods her head, a slight roll of her eyes following. "Yes mom, we packed everything last night together."

"Excellent. Ok let's go. Get your shoes on."

She was thankful she has chose to rent within the neighborhood, even if it was pricier, so drive to the school was relatively short.

"Hey- oh my goodness do you need help?"

Isabella was barely three feet into the impressively sized elementary school before she was stopped by a man with Asian features. He stood taller than her with tastefully done gelled hair and an immaculate dress pant and button up combination. Compared to her wrinkled skirt and blouse, the young mother briefly wonders if he had missed the turn to his business meeting and accidentally wound up at a school.

He doesn't wait for her to answer before grabbing half of the bags Isabella had hanging hazardously off of her body.

"Thank you," she sighs in relief. Her shoulders and back were beginning to heavily protest at the extra weight. She may have overdone it just a little bit when buying extra items for her class.

"Don't worry about it," he chuckles. "The name's Eric by the way. You must be the new teacher everyone has been talking about." His smile, easy and laid back, was easy for the brunette to return.

"In the flesh. And this is my daughter Nessie." She inclines her head to her left side where her shy daughter stood half covered by her mothers legs. She says nothing to acknowledge the man choosing instead to hide a little further.

"Nessie, that name sounds familiar. I think she may be in my classroom actually. Nice to meet you too." He crouched down to her level and holds his hand out in greeting. The little girl eyes it warily for a moment before tentatively returning the gesture.

"Oh I thought your name sounded familiar. You'll have to excuse me my mind is a bit jumbled right bow. And she's normally very shy when meeting people but when she warms up you'll miss this version. Trust me." Isabella laughs lightly and Eric joins as he straightens himself.

Nessie begins to pout, clearly not entertained with being the center of the joke.

"I see it every year nothing to worry about. First grade is usually a tough transition for kids." He shrugs. "Were you headed to the teachers lounge? I was on my way there before running into you two; I can lead the way if you would like?"

The trio walk leisurely down the halls as Eric points out or explains certain halls, classrooms, and offices. Briefly he touches on some of the other teachers who will inhabit the halls but the young mother is sure she won't remember any of their names.

"Luckily, the first grade hall is pretty close to here so you won't have to go very far to make copies or heat up your lunch." He redirects his attention to the younger girl. "And you're quite possibly the only student allowed in this room too. Luckily you!" He chuckles again to himself as he props the door open.

"I guess that makes me pretty special then." Nessie remarks as she walks around the room touching anything she could reach. Isabella could never figure out why children felt the need to touch anything and everything in their line of sight.

Eric hums in agreement. "So you're here a little early, I'm assuming to put the finishing touches in your room, but we have an assembly in about forty minutes or so. All the kids will go straight there, hear an incredibly boring speech, then we will collect our individual classes and begin the school day."

Isabella nods, appreciative of the information. "Who will lead the assembly?"

He pauses in the pouring of his coffee to think. "Normally it's the principle but recently she's been having Jasper, the vice, do most of the public events. She enjoys running things from her office."

"Sounds charming," she comments.

"Rosalie? Well if you stay well out of her way, she can be. Jasper on the other hand is the definition of a sweet southern gentleman. I don't think he has a mean bone in his body. A real hit with the ladies, just in case your interested," he notes the absence of a ring on her left hand and wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

Isabella sputters a bit at the suggestion. "Oh dear no, I am very far removed from the proverbial market right now."

Eric nods in understanding. "You say that now," he teases. "But if I weren't married and swung for the other team-"

"What would you do?"

Both teachers turn toward the new voice that entered the room.

She was of medium height and build. Dark brown, almost black hair, was pulled tight into a low bun. The woman gazes at Isabella through thick rimmed glasses before smiling warmly.

"You must be Isabella, it's a pleasure to meet you." Her smile falters as she redirects her gaze to the only man in the room. "I hope my husband wasn't harassing you with absolutely riveting details of the new video game he's been playing."

"Angela," Eric groans. "I was well on my way to making her think I'm actually cool." He pouts.

The brunette lets the laugh slip easily through her lips. Eric's demeanor had switched completely from a smooth talking fellow to one that was more childlike. She had to admit that the latter seemed to fit his softer features. "I thought you were suspiciously too good with getting Nessie to shake your hand so soon. It's actually because you two are just alike."

Angela joins Isabella in a light hearted laughter at her husbands expense. He continues to pout but the telltale signs of his twitching lips reveals that he was just as amused as the two woman.

The clock chimes; gently reminding the brunette that she needed to start setting up if she had any hopes of being ready before assembly.

She exchanges parting words before collecting Nessie and walking towards the general direction of the first grade hall. She finds it quickly enough, and with the help of a second, smaller pair of hands is able to have everything set up in the nick of time. Isabella whisks her daughter down the hall to the assembly room then takes her place among Eric and Angela, as well as a few other teachers.

A tall man with wavy honey brown hair and kind brown eyes soon takes the stage.

"Welcome everyone to another exciting school year," he begins with a certain richness in his voice that makes Isabella's spine tingle. This must be Jasper Hale, she muses to herself.

To her immediate right another teacher snorts. "Of course that bitch would get poor Jasper to do the opening ceremony. I would be surprised if she even makes it out of her office this year," she sneers in a nasally voice.

Another teacher bobs her head in agreement. "Yeah, I know right? If the pay wasn't as good as it is I would have totally quit like last year."

The other teacher hums in response. "It's probably better this way. Word has probably gotten out that she's a big dyke and she doesn't want to scare off any potential parents. That's exactly why I don't send my children here."

Angela wrinkles her nose in disagreement. "Lauren, sweetheart, if you think sending your children to private school is going to shield them from gay people you're heavily mistaken," she chides.

Lauren narrows her eyes. "It most certainly does. I've meet all of the teachers at that school and they have outstanding characters."

The teacher next to Lauren bobs her head in agreement again. "Yeah they're such good people! There's no way that can be _like that._ I've meet them too." She finishes with a proud smile of her own.

"You think being a a good person and gay are mutually exclusive?" Angela rolls her eyes at the thought. "Actually, never mind. I don't even want to hear you answer that."

Lauren sneers in Angela's general direction again, a retort on the tip of her tongue. She seems to decide against it and chooses instead to refocus her attention on Jasper.

"With that being said, I ask that you all enjoy this school year. Remember, if you do your best you can achieve everything you set out to do. Please remain seated, everyone! Your teachers will come gather you soon at head to home room." Jasper smiles warmly to the students and gestures to the teachers standing at the far side of the room.

Isabella blinks. She had not been aware of how much time had passed while listening to the conversation. She smooths out her skirt, plasters the biggest smile on her face, and sets out to collect her class.

* * *

The day had been going particularly well.

After settling into their class she had gone over simple classroom rules and allowed her first graders to begin to design and customize their own name tags. Halfway through, they were interrupted by the bell signaling lunch. The students were reluctant to leave their projects unfinished but she had reassured them that they could continue after recess. She smiles softly at the thought of her classroom. They appeared eager to learn, and she was more than eager to teach. One look around her classroom soon had her grimacing. It has looked like a glitter bomb had gone off. Undoubtedly she would be here well after the final bell cleaning everything up.

Isabella was in the middle of enjoying her leftovers when a swift knock arrives at her door. Before she could mutter out the words 'come in,' the door was swung open with a force that may have put a hole in the wall if the rubber stopper had not been there.

A young woman appearing to be in her mid twenties strolls in; an appreciative whistle leaving pink lips. "Dang Swan, you make the rest of our rooms like awful." The woman releases a laugh and Isabella watches, half startled to death, as her meticulously styled short black hair bobs along to the movement.

"I'm sorry I tried to control her," Angela apologizes as the steps around the shorter woman to enter the room. "I hope she didn't scare you too much?"

"Not terribly," the brunette lies. Truthfully she was still trying to calm her erratically beating heart.

"That's a load of bull. If you've only seen your facial expression when I came in," the woman chuckles to herself. "Anyway you can call me Alice, I teach Related Arts down the hall." She juts her thumb behind her in a general direction.

"I heard a new teacher was coming and wanted to see for myself what the big deal was." Alice shrugs. "They were right though, you really are a cutie."

The young mother doesn't need to look into the mirror to know that she face just became a few shades of red darker.

"Alice!" Angela hisses. "She's harmless I swear." She gives the young mother an apologetic look.

Alice pouts while crossing her arms tightly under her chest. "You never let me have any fun with the new teachers. You're such a goodie two shoes, Angela. Luckily for you, Swan, you don't have to worry about me. I currently have my eyes on one of the most handsome men to have ever graced the earth."

Isabella quirks an eyebrow, the idea of finishing her lunch in peace long gone. "Who?" She can't help but ask.

"Jasper," Angela cuts in with a smug smile.

Alice narrows her eyes at, presumably, her best friend before turning to face the brunette again. "He stole my heart with that sweet southern accent." She sighs wistfully. "The things I would do just to go on one date with him."

"Have you talked to him, maybe tried to see if he is single?" Isabella indulges the shorter woman.

"Oh he's single," Angela comments as she begins to open the lunch she packed for herself. Alice nods her head in agreement as she steals a chicken finger from the other woman.

"Yeah he's single but he's so busy being at Rosalie's every beck and call that he hardly had time to do anything else." She adds with a mouthful of Angela's chicken.

Isabella furrows her eyebrows. "This is the second thing I've heard about her in the few hours I've been here; and neither has been positive. Should I be worried?"

They exchange a look as Alice grimaces and Angela clears her throat. "You shouldn't worry," the latter begins, "but with that being said I would be careful. She very much likes her way of doing things and doesn't stand too much for opposition. That's how the position you're in opened up. As long as you stay out of her way she'll stay out of yours."

She thinks about her next question for only a split second before it comes blurting out. "Is it true? Is she actually a lesbian?"

Alice looks startled for only a second before throwing a head back in a howling laughter.

"No one knows for sure. It's a silly rumor that started to spread a few years back because she is still single." Angela does her best to try to conceal her laugh behind a raised hand.

"Is that a bad thing?" Isabella asks, curiosity getting the best of her.

"It is when you're smoking hot," Alive answers, a deadly serious look on her face. "Im not lezzy but damn even I have to question myself when she struts down the hall in those tight pencil skirts. I'd turn gay for her."

"Alice," Angela chides but not unkindly. "You can't turn gay you either are or you're not not.

"Im just saying," the pixie girl shrugs; a sly smile playing on her lips.

"You don't have the same opinion as Lauren and Jessica have on it, do you?" Angela eyes the young mother warily.

Isabella scrunches her face in thought. "I don't think I've ever met a gay person in my life before but I don't have an issue with it." She shrugs. "It's not my business who people decide to sleep with."

Pleased with her answer Angela resumes her lunch with a hum of agreement.

"I knew I was going to like you, Swan," Alice comments with a slap to the young mothers back. "She's not a scary person. Just don't piss her off." She begins to laugh again.

Isabella mulls this over while she finishes her lunch with the chatter of the other two women in the background.

* * *

Isabella frowns as she grades the last few papers in her pile. The school board has insisted that all the first graders in state learn how to write the alphabet with complete accuracy by the end of the first week as well as spell a handful of two, or three letter words.

It had caused her to have to push the young children to write as much as they could in the short time allotted for English per day.

And just as she suspected, her students are struggling to keep up. She had scheduled the test for tomorrow, Friday, and had decided to give a practice quiz today to see where everyone was. Already, she dreaded having to give so many worksheets, tests, and quizzes, but she needed to check their progress.

She sighs once more as she places the last failed test in the pile.

"What's eating you up cupcake?" Alice strolls into her room unannounced for the forth consecutive day that week; the two well on their way to becoming good friends.

"This curriculum," the brunette explains with a touch of exasperation in her tone. "It's too much. They're only six years old, seven at best, and we're already beginning to shove tests down their throats. I don't want my classroom to be a place that my students dread coming to. Nessie doesn't want to come to school tomorrow because she thinks she'll disappoint me if she doesn't do well on the test."

"Will she?"

Isabella frowns. "Oh course not. But there has to be a better way to fit the curriculum in a more interesting productive way."

Alice hums in agreement as she leans against the corner of the other teacher's desk. "Fortunately my job is easy. I just teach kids how to finger paint and make clay structures from time to time. I agree though, you guys have it hard."

They settle into a comfortable silence while the young mother mulls an idea around. "What if I just don't give out the test tomorrow?" She decided to voice it aloud.

"Are you trying to get fired?" Alice deadpans. "You've only been here for a week Swan but I would be lying if I said I didn't like you. If you're replaced with some crusty old hag I _will_ find out where you live and will not let you hear the last of it."

The young mother allows herself to laugh at Alice's attempt of a threat. She could only imagine the barely five foot woman ranting and raving at her doorstep.

"Do you actually think I would be fired or would it just be a little slap on the wrist?"

"Are you seriously considering this?"

"Yes."

Alice sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "If we were at a typical school with a typical principal they may be willing to hear you out and allow you to pilot your own course. Unfortunately for you, this is neither one of those cases. We have become one of the top performing schools in the state since the arrival of the Ice Queen. And just to reiterate one more time, she does not take well to criticism."

"So," Isabella drawls.

"So im not saying it's a definite but it's very high up on the list of possibilities."

The first grade teacher leans back in the chair with a sharp inhale.

"Don't tell me you're still considering it."

Her door flies open for the second time this lunch period. Isabella briefly wonders if door abuse is a thing. "Still considering what?" Eric asks with a mouthful of, presumably, some fruit of some kind.

"Nothing," both Isabella and Alice answer at the same time.

Eric eyes them both suspiciously for a while before shrugging it off. "Anyway Isabella I actually have a question for you. Every Wednesday there's this teacher meeting we have during lunch and recess. One teacher is elected from each grade or related arts and represents their section. I was elected at the end of last year but Angela is whining that I do too much, and sorry im rambling. I just wanted to know if you would like to my position this year?"

Isabella worries her bottom lip in thought. "Im not sure if I'm qualified I've only been here one day shy of a week."

"And is already on her way to get fired," Alice mutters not so quietly under her breath.

"All you have to do is sit and listen, it's super easy I promise." He clasps his hands under his chin and does his best to give her the best puppy dog eyes he can muster. "You're my last hope."

She breathes heavily through her nose. Puppy dog eyes had always been her weakness, one that Nessie knew how to exploit well.

"Ok I'll do it."

Eric leaps comically into the air with fist bump. "Thanks Isabella, I'll make it up to you. Just name your price." He scrunches his features with an afterthought. "Within reason of course. We're teachers not millionaires."

"That won't be necessary," she laughs.

"Oh yes it will," Alice chimes with a playful roll of her eyes. "Jasper tries to make them interesting but it's the most boring hour you'll ever have the displeasure of sitting through. But you'll have me there to entertain you." She shrugs, a shy smile gracing her face. "If im not too distracted ogling at Mr. Whitlock that is."

Isabella playfully swats at the other woman's leg. "Try not to turn my room into a swimming pool, Alice."

 **Hi.**

 **So my laptop died a few months ago completely destroying the remaining chapters of MC along with a monstrously long one-shot I had completed. I was very /not/ happy to put it lightly.**

 **So I started writing this off and on in my free time to try to gain inspiration to get back into writing after that major set back. A few words became hundreds, then thousands, then multiple chapters and a detailed outline. This is not an original idea and has been done like a hundred times but I wanted to give it a go anyway with my own twist on it.**

 **As far as MC goes, I'm still very discouraged to finish it now. If anyone really wants to see it done please PM me and if it's wanted enough I'll do a complete rewrite of the story. (It has many plot holes and other issues that need to be fixed.)**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy a new multi-chap. I've drafted all the way to chapter 23, so expect it to be around that length.**

 **The next few chapters are already written in their entirety so expect relatively request updates (if I had a penny for every time I said that.)**

 **Enjoy.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'll do this AN at the beginning since there are a few things I'd like to address.**

 **As promised, a super speedy second chapter. Thank you for the feedback! I've noticed quite a few number of people put this story on alert/favorites and I think that's great! This story is new territory for me and I could use the confidence, so if you are enjoying please be sure to drop a review too. They're like warm virtual hugs delivered onto my being.**

 **Please virtually hug me.**

 **A fair amount of characters are OOC (most noticeably Alice) to fit the needs of the story. I'm actually having a lot of fun with it as well as expanding upon secondary characters in this story; something I typically never do.**

 **Also someone was a bit upset that I failed to include that this story was all human. So if you made it this far, it's all human. If you're looking for a vampire story from me you're in luck, I have one in the works.**

 **Not Beta'd all mistakes are mine.**

Reaching the infamous principal, as she found out, was actually much easier said than done. She had met with a middle aged graying secretary to request a hearing. The older woman had looked her over once or twice before quirking an eyebrow and puckering her lips. Rolling her eyes, she made a move to dial the extension to the principal's office. The phone was slammed back down soon after with the click of her tongue. Muttering something about how the other woman was always busy and that an appointment must be made at least three weeks in advance, she had sent her off with a dismissive wave of her hand.

She chews the end of a pen thoughtfully as she watches the pensive expression of the children trying to remember the spelling of certain words. Her interest was focused particularly on a small boy with wild brown hair. He had made it a point to switch with another student in the class to sit directly in front of her desk. Something about how his parents told him that if he sat in the front he would be more likely to pass with better grades.

He scrunches his face in a childlike manor before scooting away from his desk with a huff. He marches up to Isabella and thrusts the paper onto the teacher's desk; a frustrated expression etched onto his young features.

She blinks back her surprise.

"Are you already finished, Edward?" She asks as she eyes the chucky lettering in the once empty boxes. She scans some of his answer choices and is pleased to see that all of the work she sees so far is correct. She gives an inward sigh of relief. Perhaps the overall tests results weren't going to be as bad as she originally predicted.

"Yeah," he pouts. "My parents had me studying all week after piano practice so I could get a good grade. It wasn't all that bad, but there are a trillion other things I would rather be doing instead."

She nods distractedly as she begins to grade the young man's work before the realization of his words dawn on her. "You take piano lessons? Everyday?"

It was now his turn to blink in confusion. "Yeah of course. Mom says that if children don't participate in after school activities they will become bad kids. Something about how our minds must always be occupied because if they aren't we'll find ways to do it ourselves."

Isabella slowly raises her eyebrows. It was clear he came from a wealthier family to afford to do something like that on a daily bases. Not to mention, his vocabulary was remarkable for his age as well. "I see. And how often do you go? How young were you when you started?" She presses a little more; curious about, who could possibly be, the kid with the highest grade average in her class.

"I started two years ago. I only went once a week then, but now I go every day after school for two hours." He answers with something in between a grimace and a smile; as if he couldn't tell if he were proud or would rather be playing video games instead.

"You practice every day for two hours and then went home to study for this test every day as well?"

Edward looks at her as if she just asked the most ridiculous question in the world. He furrows his features with confusion etched all over it. "Of course! My parents don't want me to do badly, and you are already giving us tests so I had to study," he pouts again.

The young woman is reacquainted with her earlier feeling of immense guilt. She wanted to defend herself and explain to him that is wasn't her giving out these exams, but the people she had to answer to. But she knew that he wouldn't understand at this age. All he knew was that his teacher was the one handing out the tests, and passing back the grades. She swallows the lump in her throat.

"Well, I am very happy that you put effort into this test." She hold up the finished paper. "You got almost everything correct. Just remember that the word 'fog' is spelled with one 'g' and not two."

His expressive eyes scan the paper for a few seconds before nodding his head, turning around, and taking his seat. She continues to watch as he pulls out a piece of sheet music and quietly practices his fingering on the empty desk space.

The bell rings ten minutes later and the young woman instructs the other students to turn in their papers before they file out to go eat lunch. There was some grunting and complaining as many of them did not manage to finish on time. Being a touch too lenient, she allows ten more minutes to the students who really needed it. Still, the test were turned in with down trodden expressions and slow feet.

The rest of the school day passes uneventfully, and more sullen than the teacher would have preferred. Not even lunch and recess back to back could raise the spirits of her first graders.

Late that evening, Isabella decides to stay behind after school that day to quickly finish grading all the tests so she would have nothing to bring home during the weekend. Those days were her designated planning days, and the last thing she needed on top of that was more work. Not only that, she had also promised Nessie that they could do something together this weekend. The young mother hated to admit it, but her daughter had been taking the move harder than she had expected.

Isabella worries her bottom lip. Nothing the mother said could console her daughter when she continued to cry nearly everyday on the way home from school. She missed her friends and father back in Forks immensely. Unfortunately, Isabella could not replace those things for her.

Another inward sigh.

Surely time would fix everything. Or so she would hope. In the mean time, she would have to do the best she could with the resources allotted.

After entering the last of the less-than-stellar grades into the online system she makes the move to begin packing up to head home. Defeated, the brunette makes her way Eric's classroom to pick up her daughter who had been patiently awaiting her return.

She was sitting at a vacant table, save for her herself, coloring in a book Isabella had given to her months ago. Eric waved her over from his spot at his desk; grading the results of his own exam with the same pensive look the brunette had worn earlier that day.

"Not so good, huh?" She mutters while ruffling the young girl's hair in a way of a greeting. The little girl playfully swats her arm away, complaining that her mother was ruining her concentration.

"Not really," Eric mumbles under his breath. A thoughtful look passes his features. "The parents are going to be after my neck once they realize some of their kids will be failing the first class. At this rate, I don't even think some of them will make it through the first grade. And to think it's only the first week." He tsks. "The school board doesn't care about these children, they just want the results so that they can get more funding to line their pockets."

Isabella can feel the corners of her lips tug down into a frown. "It's a shame too. All kids learn at different a pace and a one size fits all method is not only outdated, but it doesn't work. I was actually trying to see if I could speak to the principal about this matter, but she was too busy to hear me out." She comments with a shrug.

Eric laughs softly. "Expect to hear that often. Contrary to what a of other teachers say, she is actually very busying running in and out of meetings to increase the funding of our school. People can say what they want about her, but knowing that she single handedly saved this school from shutting down has more than earned my respect," he mirrors her earlier shrug. "With that being said, if you want anything to have a shot at being approved, I would speak to Jasper instead."

The brunette instructs Nessie to pack her things up. "So what should we do about these test? There's supposed to be one every week and I'm just not sure that's fair on our students."

"There's nothing we can do." He shrugs again. "Besides of course appealing to the board, but that would take months. Not to mention we would need the approval of the woman in charge. And I think even you know at this point that it won't happen." A chuckle.

"Maybe I can make an appointment to talk to her about it in a few weeks?" She shoulders her daughters bookbag since the little girl looked too tired to do it on her own. She had to come in early with her mother as well as stay late most school days. Naturally, all Nessie wanted to do was go home and nap. "It's just hard for me to see them with so much work. One of my students told me today that he spends two hours at piano, then continues to study afterwards upwards an hour per day." She shakes her head in disbelief. "They need time to be children still."

Eric eyes her thoughtfully. "I really like the fact that you seems to care a lot about you students, really I do. And I'll try to back you up as much as I can. But be careful, Isabella. The last thing you want to do is to step on too many toes during your time here." He warns.

The young mother smirks softly. "If stepping on someone's toe is what I have to do to help these students then so be it. Being a teacher has always meant a lot to me. I've practically been wanting to teach since I've been in diapers." She laughs at her own joke.

He regards her for a moment before mirroring her smirk.

* * *

The weekend had passed in the Swan household relatively uneventfully. Isabella tries her best to stifle her yawn during her second week of teaching at the new elementary school. Once again, she had stayed up all night fretting over her job. The first teacher's meeting of the year was due to be held this Wednesday and she had heard that Jasper was the one that normally held them.

She had also heard nothing but great things about the southern gentleman and thus he would be the most likely to help the new teacher on her quest to appeal to the board. He was the vice principle after all, if anyone could get her in touch in the principal, it would be her brother. This left her with an uplifted spirit for perhaps there was still hope left for her kids. At the very least, she needed to try.

She shuffles the outline of her new course curriculum again. The young mother had spent hours mulling over the report until it was all but perfect in her eyes. She had pitched the idea to Eric as well and even he seemed impressed by what the new teacher had to present.

The new system she had been adamant to redesign included things she believed her first grade class would be interested in. One of the top things on her list had been to get the room a class pet. She had been eying the cutest, fluffiest rabbit in the store downtown for quite a few days now. Isabella could almost feel the excitement that would be radiating off of the young children when they walked in and saw Mr. Fluffs in a large cage in the room. She smiles goofily at the thought.

If they did well that week they would have the opportunity to take the rabbit home for the weekend. With parent's permission of course.

"What's got you in all smiles? Do you have a date coming up soon we should know about?" Angela asks as she slides her leftovers into the microwave to heat up. The other woman had decided not to tie her hair up but instead leave it down in loosely curled ringlets. Isabella noted that the look suited the other teacher well.

"Nothing at all. I was just thinking about how I was going to pitch the ideas about my pilot course to Mr. Hale. The attitude in my classroom has already turned sour since I had to return their test scores to submit to their parents later on this afternoon."

"I take it didn't go well?" Angela asks as she removes the lid from her now heated lunch.

Isabella grunts in displeasure. "The average was a sixty-five between my class and Eric's."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, you're telling me."

"Do you know how well Nessie did?"

"Of course. With Eric as her teacher I'm privy to this information well before the other parents are. Nessie did well despite all her worrying, an eighty-six."

Angela's eyes light up with approval.

Isabella takes this time to savor the taste of her coffee. "Call me crazy Ang, but I just can't believe that we are assigning letter and number grades already. I know I'm getting older, but I don't recall ever having to worry about these things when I was that age. As long as we did the work, and didn't completely blow it, we would get passed."

"No you're definitely not crazy I remember that too. But the work they give kids now is completely different from when we were kids. I saw my friend's son working on complex multiplication problems the other day, and he's only in the third grade," she chuckles. "I don't remember doing that type of stuff until at least fifth grade. At this rate children are going to be working on calculus in middleschool."

They share a laugh.

"I understand, and I don't think there is anything wrong with indroducing topics at a younger age. But I just think it needs to be more interesting for the children. If they're not engaged in the material then they won't develop the want to actually learn new things. Instead school will seem like a chore, which is something they definitely won't want to do down the line."

"No I understand exactly what you're saying, that's why I'm thinking about possibly homeschooling my future children. I hope you get approved to pilot your classroom though. I think you may be onto something really big that will change the way we educate our children here. And who knows," she smirks, "I may be obliged to put my future daughter in your classroom."

Isabella smirks into her coffee. "At the rate you and Eric are going, I would be well into my retirement relaxing on an island somewhere."

"Don't remind me," Angela groans out loud. "I'm already twenty-six and not getting younger."

"You have plenty of time left don't worry. It'll happen sooner or later, trust me." The first grade teacher moves to the sink to wash her now empty cup. The very warm water felt great on her chilled hands. It was noticeably hotter here than dreary Forks so the school had the air conditioning running on full blast all day, everyday.

"Was Nessie planned? Not that it is any of my business of course," she quickly adds. "You don't have to answer. Actually, just forget that I even asked."

"No it's no problem. I was in my last year of undergrad when her father and I found out I was pregnant with Nessie. We were nervous and shocked of course, but very excited." She smiles warmly at the memory as she dries her hands.

"I think this is the first time I've heard you talk about her father." The other teacher comments with a touch a hesitation, curiously eyeing Isabella above the thick rim of her glasses.

"He's, we left him in Forks."

"Oh I'm so sorry. That must be really tough on you too."

Isabella shrugs. "We're not together, but it's been pretty tough on Nes. We may have not agreed on many things, but co-parenting was certainly one of them. But I have to go Ang, students will be arriving soon from recess and I'll probably be eaten alive if I leave a bunch of rowdy students to their own devices for more than two seconds."

"No problem girl I'll catch you later. Good luck on Wednesday!"

* * *

She was nervous. Beyond nervous actually. Isabella has always been an outspoken person by nature, but she was about to sit in front of all her peers and criticize the way they were required to teach and have been doing for years. She worries her bottom lip between her teeth.

The papers where stored in a manilla folder held firmly in her, slightly sweating, hands. She had been reassured many times over by a few of her colleges so she should had nothing to worry about. Apparently, Jasper was a very understanding man who usually jumps at the chance to try new and inventive things.

A gentle hand squeezes her shoulder. Isabella doesn't even need to turn around to figure out who it is. "I'm glad you here, Alice."

"Oh don't be mistaken sweetheart, I'm the only related arts teacher who isn't bat shit insane. So my decision to be here is not my own." She lets loose a loud laugh at that while patting Isabella on the back a few more times for good measure. "You have nothing to worry about dear it's just Jasper. The absolute worst thing that can happen is-" The words die on her tongue as she swings the conference doors open.

The young mother looks at the art teacher questionably before following her gaze to the front of the room. There, at the head of the table, was not the warm smile of Jasper Hale, but the indifferent gaze of steel gray eyes. Very familiar steel gray eyes. The young mother feels her mouth go instantly dry.

"Never mind we're completely screwed, that's Rosalie Hale. And by we I of course mean you." The young pixie woman takes in her coworkers shell shocked expression. "Bells are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost. I mean she's not _that_ scary."

"I know this woman."

Alice rolls her eyes playfully as she guides them to their seats. "Of course you know her, she's our boss."

"No," Isabella tries again. "I met her before, at a coffee shop. My daughter accidently spilled hot chocolate on her very expensive looking outfit."

Almost as if on cue, those sets of eyes do a sweeping pass of the room before landing directly on Isabella's. They linger for just a moment before a look of realization flashes through them. Indifference is soon replaced with an expression teetering on poorly restrained contempt.

The young woman inhales sharply. Oh course, out of all the possible people in the world qualified to be her boss, it would be the raging blonde on two legs that had her skirt destroyed by her employee's daughter. Isabella fights the groan that threatens to spill from the back of her throat.

"Miss Swan," the blonde seethes from gritted teeth. "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't make the school regret hiring you by actually showing up to all of our meetings _on time_."

Alice chokes on the water she had been silently sipping to the first grade teacher's right. The young mother could feel her cheeks heating up in embarrassment. Why had she only called her out when Alice had come in at the exact same time? That same uncharacteristic anger she experienced at the coffee shop began to bubble up again inside her. But this was certainly not the same situation. The other woman was clearly still pissed about the other day. So, all she had to do was avoid saying anything that may make her angrier. "Are you threatening my job?"

 _Shit._

The words slip out before she could attempt to put any filter on, and she immediately regrets that decision. It was clear that Ms. Hale was not a fan of opposition as her face morphs into one of complete shock for just a spilt second. She was soon to recover, however, and soon the brunette was being leveled with the deadliest glare she had ever experienced in her life; even worse than the one at the coffee shop. If looks could kill she was sure she would be six feet under this school right now, by the blonde's own doing.

Alice looks worriedly between the two; clearly caught in between the decision to say something to defend the new teacher or to stay quiet. The rest of the teachers fall into a deathly silence as they watch on with nervous glances.

Isabella wets her now dry lips as the silence continues to stretch to an uncomfortably long length. The young mother was already beginning to think of how to tell her daughter that she managed to get fired during her second week here before she was finally granted a response.

"And what if I did?" Rosalie voices in an unnerving cool voice that betrayed the violence dancing in her eyes.

Isabella swallows the lump that formed in her throat. "I would say that you have the administrative right to do that if you so pleased." She answered, her pride kicking her after every word left her mouth.

The blonde studies her for just a moment longer before humming out an appreciative tone at her answer. "You would be wise not to speak out of you place again. Do I made myself clear, Ms. Swan?"

The brunette tersely nods. At this point she doesn't know what is more embarrassing; the fact that she was being publically ostracized in front of her peers, or that she actually had to back down to the other woman. "Yes," the word comes out tense but it's enough to appease the woman.

"Very well. Now that we are finished with that little distraction I would like to actually like to start this meeting so that we can also get back to our jobs." She shoots a pointed look at the young mother. "So let's begin."

* * *

"She humiliated me, Alice." Isabella repeats for the fourth time that evening, pacing frantically in her classroom.

"Well I mean you did ruin her shit the other day."

The brunette whips around and focuses her wet gaze on the artist. "Are you implying that I deserved that?"

"Woah calm down tiger," Alice holds her hands up in mock defense. "I was just trying to lighten up the situation. I can see why you would be upset, hell if I were you I would have already stormed into the woman's office and given her a piece of my mind. One that preferably involved her bent over the desk-"

"Alice!" The young mother cries out. "That's disgusting."

"Are you implying that being in same sex relationships is disgusting?"'

Isabella balks. "What? No of course not I just, it's not," she shakes her head in frustration. "Alice this is completely off topic! Can you be of some assistance to me right now, please?"

Alice pushes off from the wall she was leaning on and comes closer only to lean against the corner of her desk, bringing her face to face with the raging mother. "Alright you have serious Alice now so pay close attention 'cause I don't do this very often. Rosalie and I used to be really good friends growing up since our parents wanted to attend wealthy socialite parties and would drag us along.

"Off topic.

"Anyway, you can say that I kinda know how she works. Rosalie likes being in control, and she is very good at it. Like _really_ good at it. It's not often that she is challenged and to be honest I think you were the first person to ever oppose her, even if it was just a little, in years. And I seriously commend you for that. In fact, all of the teachers do."

"Seriously? You all commend me for getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter?"

"No, for saying something." Alice shrugs. "And not getting fired on top of that. That's probably the most surprising part about the whole thing. Rosalie can be pretty trigger happy when it comes to relieving people of their positions and even though she threatened you, she didn't follow through. That's huge."

Isabella gazes quizzically at her new friend before slumping into her chair with a sigh of mixed relief and frustration.

"So, don't worry about it. Seriously."

* * *

Isabella still finds herself tense later that night in the midst of preparing dinner. Seriously, she must have the absolute worst luck known to man. If she had know the abrasive blonde was running she school she would have stayed in Forks. But she was here now. And Isabella Swan hated nothing more than to not finish a job she set out to do. she supposed she inherited it from her father.

"Momma is it December yet? Because I really want to see daddy again." Nessie's voice brings her out of her thoughts.

Isabella tries her best not to be offended by the innocent question. "No sweetheart, it's only September. You still have a little over two months to go until he comes back to get you for Christmas. Do you think you can hold on a little bit more for mommy?"

She slides the lasagna into the oven a little more aggressively than she had intended to. They had left on relatively iffy terms. Not bad, but far from good. Logically, Isabella knew that it was completely natural for children to want both of their parents. Or to want to see the other when they have spent too long of a time away from them. Nessie had went from having her father pick her up every single day after school and frequent weekend visits to nothing, practically overnight.

Logically, it made sense.

She knew this.

But these questions always made her feel inferior to her daughter's father. Like she wasn't the ideal parent because she had to be a little stricter and enforce the rules a little bit more than her father would. Naturally, she was seen as the parent who wasn't as fun to be around.

"Yeah I guess so," she mumbles out distractedly as she practices the spelling of the words 'night' and 'knight'.

Isabella is broken from her train of thought and breathes heavily to herself as she sets the oven timer. "Why, what's the problem? Are you making friends at our new school yet?"

Nessie pauses from her homework to refocus her attention on her mother. "I've made some friends. But I like it better in Forks. All of my old friends would have been going into the same class and I would have been with them!" She smiles momentarily at the memory of her old pre-school friends and it's a sight that wrenches the young mother's heart. "Plus dad, Grandpa, Leah, and the rest of the family are there too."

"Yeah I guess you're right."

"Dad says I'm right most of time. He says that one day I may be even more right than you are." She smiles proudly at the thought.

At this the mother cocks an eyebrow. "Oh he did, did he?"

"Mhm, and I think that would make me pretty smart since you know practically everything there is to know about anything."

"Oh I wouldn't say that."

The little girl rolls her eyes clearly not believing her mother's words. "So how did the meeting go? Are we going to be able to bring a pet bunny into the classroom?" The girls momentarily forgets her homework as her eyes light up at the possibility. "Mr. Fluffy seems so sad and lonely at the store, Mom we just _have_ to bring him home."

The mother doesn't answer immediately, instead choosing to distract herself by checking on the dinner cooking in the oven. "I don't have an answer yet sweetheart."

She scrunches up her face in confusion. "Ok but what about Mr. Fluffs?"

"What do you mean?" The first grade teacher asks.

"Does that mean we can't go get him anyway?"

The mother ponders this for a long minute. "How about you finish your homework and after you eat your dinner kiddo we can talk about it a little more. How does that sound?"

"That normally means you'll say no," she pouts. "You always say no, dad always says yes." Nessie adds silently.

Isabella studies the solemn look on her daughter's face before inwardly sighing. It was going to be a long two months.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm not sure how it happened, but my chapters keep getting lengthier and lengthier, which unfortunately increases my editing time. Before starting this story I aimed for 3.5-4k per chapter and that somehow turned into 5k.**

 **Whoops.**

 **I've recently got into very aggressive cuts in my story when moving onto the next topic or if there is a progression in time. I find that it's a little easier on the eyes to do so. Plus they're fun. Unless otherwise stated, a bar line symbolizes a jump in time; normally a day or two.**

 **Thank you for all of your virtual hugs. Better than warm cookies from the oven. Regarding that, this story now has 56 followers and 27 favorites which is _huge_. Seriously, thank you guys so much!**

 **Lastly, DerpingInTheSun your name made me laugh much harder than I probably should have.**

 **Not Beta'd all mistakes are mine.**

"Alright class is dismissed! I'll see you guys in an hour after lunch and recess." Isabella watches her students excitedly file out of the room, talking excitedly about the games they were planning to participate in during the thirty minutes of yard play.

She sits down with a huff and a side eye to the reports that were sitting unfiled, and ungraded on her desk. She didn't think that being a first grade teacher would have come with so much paperwork. What she did not know, however, was that the principle required that each teacher keep a portfolio on each student that was to be update weekly. It was for the benefit of the teachers and parents to keep track of the student progress. Or so she says.

The papers are due to be submitted by the end of the day every Friday, but she had been too busy preparing the plans for this week to actually start them. As a result, she was already falling behind in her duty to put away all the work. Angela and Alice claimed that Rosalie never actually checked them but the young mother was taking no chances. It would be just her luck that the blonde would come breaking down her door and demanding to see every student's file.

She risks a quick look outside and notices the changing colors of the leaves outside. They were well into September and the temperature had been dropping accordingly, or for Los Angeles at least. It was still cooler in Fork's so when the young mother and her daughter walked outside in relatively sparse clothing this week, they got a few curious glances from a few passersby's.

"Enough day dreaming you need to get this done." She scolds herself, pulling the pen from behind her ear. She was only working for a few minutes before the next distraction came.

"Another week well done, wouldn't you agree Isabella?" Eric practically sings as he skips into Isabella's classroom.

She laughs behind the stack of papers. "Two things wrong with your statement Eric. One; it's only recess so this day is far from being over. Two; it's still Monday."

The man pouts as he slides into one of the too small children's desk and opens up the lunch Angela had undoubtedly packed for him the night before. "I wish it were though. Angela and I have been having some issues lately, although we're so busy with school neither one of us want to talk about it anymore when we get home. So we've just been awkwardly coexisting. " He sighs comically. "Young love can be so difficult sometimes."

The brunette chuckles again as she sets her pen down on the desk. With Eric here there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell she was going to actually be productive. "Alright I'll bite, tell me what happened. I will warn you though that girl code requires that I not take your side in this situation. So no matter what you say, even if it's completely logical, you're wrong."

"Deal," he happily agrees with a mouth full of carrots.

The young mother cringes at the sight. "On second thought I think I can see why she may not be the happiest with you right now."

"What was that Isabella? My hearing isn't what it use to be after years of children screaming into them."

"Nothing. You were saying?"

"Oh yes," he nods as if he actually forgot and was just now remembering. "I don't know she just seems so moody literally all the time now. Lately she insists that I keep bringing her the most random foods at all hours of the night. Take yesterday for example. Angela makes me go to her favorite fast food place just to ask for a cup of ice. When I asked her what the difference between our own ice and the restaurant's she just claimed that it tasted better. Then proceeded to get mad at me when I returned because the ice was slightly melted.

"And it doesn't end there. Angela also started to snap over the smallest things, Isabella, I swear. Just yesterday I got chewed out for a full twenty minutes about a fork I left in the sink. A fork. The entire kitchen was spotless, but I got lectured over a fork." He leans as far as the chair would allow him and chews on his last baby carrot thoughtfully. "I mean that's kind of trivial, you have to at least agree with that right?"

Isabella shrugs. "Hey we made a deal coming into this buddy."

"Yeah I know," he whines. "But you were married right? Surely you have some kind of advice to help a brother out?"

The young mother stiffens ever so slightly. "I was actually never married. But coming from a woman, the best advice I can give you is to sit down and have a real conversation with her and inquire into what's been bothering her. I'm sure it couldn't hurt."

"Oh, I didn't mean to-"

The brunette holds up her hand to put a pause in her colleague's apology. "No need to apologize. I have a daughter it was a logically conclusion to come to."

Eric seems to contemplate this before slowly nodding. "Ok, but seriously I am sorry. There are many different types of families that exist now-a-days and I should have taken that into consideration."

Isabella smiles warmly at the apology, but was eager to get the subject away from her lack of a marriage life. "You new aged men are so thoughtful now." She comments idly.

"Not enough to keep me out of trouble."

"Who's in trouble?" Alice cocks her eyebrow in question when she strolls into the room with a lunch of her own. "The microwave had a line," she explains with an eye roll. "We seriously need to get another one because that wait stole ten minutes from my lunch block away from me."

"Eric is in trouble with Angela right now. He was attempting to garner sympathy but to no avail." Isabella pauses in her explanation. "And since when did my room become the universal hang out spot?" The young mother jokes.

"Since I decided that we were destined to be best friends," the shorter woman deadpans before switching her attention to the only man in the room. "Oh I heard about the situation from Angela earlier today. You're screwed dude, she's pretty pissed at you right now. I hope you have the number to a good florist." She laughs at her own joke, then harder at the sight of Eric's pout.

"Do you really think that would work?" He pulls out his phone seemingly to begin searching for actually florists in the area.

"No, not at all Eric. And they wouldn't be flowers for you to give to her, but for your impending funeral."

"I told him that he should just sit down and have a conversation with her about it." Isabella pipes in from her seat at her desk.

Alice hums her approval. "Yeah I'm with Swan on this one. You know how Angela gets if you leave her to stew in her own thoughts."

Eric breathes heavily through his nose. "Alright, alright I get it. "I'm going to sit her down during one of our free afternoons and discuss whats been going on." He stops to mull something over. "Speaking of free time, I heard about what happened at the teacher's meeting last week," he avoids eye contact with the brunette as he twiddles his thumbs nervously. "Honestly I had no idea that she would be holding the meetings this year. Every year prior it had just Jasper leading them so I didn't expect that they would suddenly switch it up. I am highly impressed that you got away with talking to her the way you did but it seems like you two have an uncanny ability to get under each other's skin." He grimaces softly. "So I will be more than happy to take the meetings back if you would like."

"You found out about it too, huh?" She looks at to Alice accusingly who throws her hands up in mock surrender mouthing the words; 'it wasn't me.'

He laughs hesitantly. "Sorry to say, but the entire building knows about it. I'm sure someone told you, but people typically don't mouth off to the big boss and return to their jobs the next day. You're like some type of super hero in these parts."

Isabella hides her laugh behind her hand. "A super hero? I feel like the complete opposite; a super failure maybe."

"Oh, Isabella puns are not your forte girl," he winces playfully.

The young mother rolls her eyes. "Yes well you get the point."

"I do, and in all seriousness I'm so sorry. So if you'll accept it, I would like to relieve you from your Wednesday duties so that would don't have to deal with Mr. Hale. Or at least on a more common basis."

Isabella bites the inside of her cheek. She had intended on giving this job back to him, but she couldn't in good conscious after hearing about his issues with third grade teacher. "Hypothetically, that would be best option. But I like having my own opinion on the board even if it goes against hers. Besides, you're still in deep water with Angela right now. I don't know her incredibly well but it doesn't take a genius to know that she wouldn't be too happy if you took up your weekly chore again."

"But-"

"Nope," she pops the 'p' sound. "Not going to hear any if, ands, or buts about it. It think I can handle one measly Wednesday a week. Besides, I need to make sure that you aren't trying to avoid your wife by piling more responsibilities on your plate."

Eric looks like he wants to argue with his eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed in thought. He seems to decide against this and instead nods in agreement with a small smile playing on his lips.

"Onto a more important topic," Alice disrupts the brief silence that had fallen over the trio. "Have you guys been getting yourselves mentally prepared for parent-teacher conferences this Friday?"

Eric groans in response. "Please don't remind me. I gave like ten of my students a failing grade on the first exam. Those parents are going to absolutely tear me a new one."

"Wait, we have conferences already? This week?" Isabella asks the two coworkers.

Alice's eyes seem to widen comically before erupting into her infamous laughter. Eric was poorly trying very hard to retain his by pretending to cough.

"You didn't know?" The shorter woman manages between breathes.

Isabella's face flushes with embarrassment.

"How do you know now? Geez Swan, I'm starting to think you just never know what's going on at this school."

"But why so soon? We've only just started the third week." Isabella presses, still confused.

"Well it used to be before the school year started as an opportunity for the parents to meet up with the teachers." Eric further elaborates. "But somewhere along the lines it slowly kept getting pushed up. Then the board decided it would just be better to move it to after school starts."

"Yeah which makes it a huge pain in my ass," Alice mutters. "The progress is always rough at the beginning. The kids are just learning how to spell their own names for goodness sakes and I have parents asking me why their child hasn't turned into the next Stephen King or something."

"That's a poor comparison. Deen Koontz is much better."

The shorter woman punches Eric lightly in arm. "That's besides the point Eric. Anyway, just brace yourself Swan. The parents around here are something of a whole new caliber. They're all vicious, lonely, evil soccer moms."

"I'm sure it can't be that bad." Isabella shoots them an incredulous look.

"Yeah, okay. I'll check in again on that opinion after Friday," Alice scoffs as she flicks a piece of broccoli in Eric's direction.

* * *

"I can't believe you're attending this meeting again."

"What I was supposed to do Alice? When Eric was talking about the issues between himself and Angela I couldn't ask him to take it back. He stated before that these meetings strained their relationship and I am not trying to add on to that." Isabella lazily stirs the coffee in front of her with a small pout forming.

"You're nicer than me. I would have told him that I felt bad but he needed to take his position back."

"That's because you have no sympathy for other people, Alice."

The art teacher had insisted that they arrive as early as possible today to the meeting to avoid the same she-devil's wrath as last week's. As a result, they sat in the nearly empty conference room, save for one other teacher at the opposite end of the table flicking a pencil between his fingers.

She had _really_ wanted to give this responsibility to Eric so she could walk away from the situation and be done with it. He was right; it seemed like every time she and the principal crossed paths, bad things were inevitably bound to happen. Just thinking about it makes her grip tighten on the mug a little more. The action does not go unnoticed by Alice.

"Careful there tiger, that cup didn't do anything to hurt you," she remarks with a smirk. "I get the feeling that a certain someone else is the cause of that misdirected anger."

"I have no idea who you're talking about," Isabella plays innocent, loosing her grip on the poor coffee cup.

"Like hell you don't. Listen, Bella, I get it. She's pretty hot so it's only natural that you feel this intense need to bang her but sooner or later you're going to have to realize she's not available." Alice says in jest. "Oh, and neither is her brother," she quickly adds.

Isabella immediately looks at the other teacher in the room to see if they over heard. Luckily, they were too investing in doing whatever they were doing on their phone. "Alice, where do you keep getting this insane idea that I'm a lesbian. And even if I were, I would in no way ever be attracted to her." She rebuttals in a low whisper.

"I just have a hunch," she shrugs easily. "You don't have to admit to it now but when you do please be sure to seek me out first. I'll be waiting with a big steaming pile of I-told-you-so."

"You'll be waiting forever," the young mother replies with a slight roll of her eyes and an upward quirk of her lips.

"You're smiling because you know I'm right."

"I'm smiling because you couldn't possibly be further from the truth." Isabella sips the now lukewarm coffee. It tasted virtually like water, but she had been running on fumes the past few days and could use any kind of energy.

They lapse into a momentary silence and soon other teachers begin to fill the remaining empty seats. At exactly twelve o'clock the woman of the hour strolls into the room, her gait was unrushed and relaxed as she moves to the head of the table.

Instead of wearing a pant suit she opted for another one of those skirts that hugged her curve perfectly and showed off those sinfully long legs; her blood red blouse was tucked into the high waist line. A few buttons at the top were left undone, not enough to show cleavage but did serve to show a flash of her skin. Isabella notes, with no small amount of annoyance, that her eyes seems to linger on that exposed amount of skin for entirely too long.

Rosalie clears her throat.

Brunette snaps up to come into direct contact with gray. She had noticed. Isabella frowns and looks down to avoid the intensity of her gaze. The last thing she wanted to do was to allow the blonde to rile her up again and have a repeat of last week.

From the corner of her eye she sees Alice shoot her a smug look.

"We have now entered the third week of this school year," she begins in a bored tone. "I don't have much time so this meeting is going to be short on my end." She pulls a few papers out from her bag and lays them on the desk space with meticulous order. Perfectly manicured nails separate the packages further.

"The board has decided to replace the standardized test with a newer, more effective one. Or so they claim. Therefore, we must rework our curriculum as well. I will pass these papers around for you all to look at but the information is not difficult for you to understand," her eyes flicker over Isabella's, "so I will not spend time explaining it.

"We are going to speed everything up by shortening the amount of time we spend on each topic. Instead of spending two weeks we're going to switch to one. This way, we will have enough time to cover the new topics that will be introduced on the test, and even have enough time to review it.

"I trust that you all more than capable of reading the material on your own." She raises her eyebrows and waits for anyone to voice concern. When no one speaks up Rosalie continues. "Excellent. If you have any questions or concerns we shall address them at the meeting next Wednesday. That was the only announcement on my agenda today so with that out of the way, does anyone have any general questions, comments, or concerns they feel need to be voiced?" Once again, her gaze finds Isabella's and the brunette could see the challenging look swirling in those slightly hooded eyes.

Truthfully, she had many things she found wrong with the new curriculum she was now forcing them to implement. Her kids were already struggling to keep up as it was. She knew for certain that they would not be able to follow a schedule that moved at twice the pace as the one implemented now. Isabella swallows the urge to speak out, all the while pinching her leg to distract herself.

 _I will not respond._

"If I may?" A teacher the mother could not remember the name to speaks up at the further end of the table.

"Yes?"

"What happens if the students still don't understand by the end of the week? We just still test them anyway? This has the potential to really lower the overall grade point averages." The graying teacher voices her question aloud.

Rosalie tucks a few strands of hair behind her ear. The young mother almost thought she saw a flash of frustration on the blonde's face, but it was gone far too soon to be sure.

"Yes, I have thought about this as well. Unfortunately it cannot be helped for these topics must be covered before testing days. I must ask that everyone be effective in their teaching lessons and if a student needs extra help outside of class don't hesitate to offer it." She levels everyone in the room with an intense gaze.

The graying teacher furrows her eyebrows. "We barely have enough time to finish grading the assignments we have. Now you want to essentially double our work load and offer tutoring sessions after school?"

"Yes." The principal answers without hesitation. "Unless you're trying to tell me that you are not capable of doing your job?" A slight glare and cock of her head adds the non-verbal threat to the sentence.

Isabella could almost feel the tension in the room. Was it like this when the other teacher's were watching her argument the other week? On one hand, she was cheering on this woman for bring up a very valid point. She had the same thoughts, but did not voice them in fear of retaliation that could end in her being homeless. But, on the other, she was afraid of the outcome. They had told her that she was lucky to walk away with her job still intact but could the same be said for this woman as well?

"I'm more than capable of doing my job," the teacher answers back in a low voice. "This, however, was not in my contract when I was hired."

Isabella waits for the principal's response with baited breath. And of course, Rosalie never fails to take on a challenge.

"Is that so? In that case, I can certainly see to it that your contract is reviewed at the end of this academic year, Mrs. Johnson."

The now identified Mrs. Johnson seems to bristle at this comment. "Are you threatening my job? You can't do anything. I have worked for this school for well over fifteen years and have rightfully earned my tenure. On top of that, you don't have the power to directly fire teachers only the board does." She finishes with her nose pointed upwards and a triumphant smirk playing on her lips.

"I think you would be rather surprised at where my range of possibilities lie." Rosalie says smoothly, seemingly unperturbed by the other teacher's outburst. She pauses to check her watch, hold up a slender hand that stops the graying teacher's response. "As much as I would love to entertain this conversation, I mentioned earlier that I don't really have the time to answer too many questions today. I shall adjourn this meeting for the week." Rosalie slides a few extra papers into her brief case.

Johnson stands up. Her rounded face was red with embarrassment and eyes alight with anger. "I'm not quite,"

"You may not be but I am well over this discussion," Rosalie snaps. Her harsh tone making it very clear that she would not tolerate anything else from the older woman. Although rigid with passion, the principal seemed to exude absolute authority and for just the briefest of moments Isabella couldn't help but to admire that power. "As for you Mrs. Johnson, I expect either you full cooperation or your resignation to be submitted by this same time next week."

And with that, she struts out of the room without waiting for the answer.

* * *

" _May I have Isabella Swan to the principal's office please?"_

The young woman looks up from the case study she had been reviewing in her planning hour at the mention of her name. She checks the watch on her wrist to confirm that it was indeed after school hours. Standing slowly in confusion she closes the files on her desk.

What could she possibly want with the new teacher so soon into the school year? And during such a late hour at that? Isabella was not going to lie; seeing that woman was not very high on the list of things she really wanted to do this week, or ever. It seemed like every encounter they had led to less than desirable outcomes.

She can still feel her cheeks burn with either embarrassment or anger when the memory of last week resurfaced. She had wanted to tell Eric that they needed to switch so that he could take his Wednesday meetings back. But one look at the man's downtrodden face due to the issues he and Angela had been having. It had given the brunette pause. How bad could it be if she just kept herself under the radar.

Besides, if she managed to talk to Jasper there was still a chance that she would be able to get her pilot case approved.

But she wasn't be called to Jasper's office right now. No, she was being called to Ms. Hale's office for reasons completely unknown to her. Her thoughts had led her all the way to the unfamiliar administrative wing of the building. The same secretary the first grade teacher saw last week notices her approaching down the hall and pulls a face.

"Oh it's you from last time." She eyes the brunette a few times before typing something into the computer.

Isabella barely restrains the urge to roll her eyes. "Yes I believe you called me down here?"

"Yes, Ms. Hale would like to speak to you so if you could just continue down the hall it's going to be the first door to the right," she says off-handily as she points in the general direction.

The young mother mutters a thank you under her breath before following the very specific directions. The door was intimidatingly large and made out of some very expensive wood; the name Rosalie Hale engraved in a silver placard.

She breathes in heavily through her nose to stele her nerves, and raps on the door. There is silence for a long moment before a muffled 'come in' sounds from the other side. Isabella pushes the door open, with quite some effort as it turns out to be solid throughout, and was greeted with a sight that made her heart skip a beat.

Seated in one of the chairs was a sniffling Nessie whipping her tears on her sleeve, and the principal leaned against her desk with her arms crossed under her shapely chest.

"Nessie what are you doing here? I thought you were spending some time coloring with Alice while Mommy quickly finished grading some papers." The mother addresses her child first as she quickly looks her up and down for any signs of damage. "What happened?" She then addresses the other woman when the only response from the little girl was to start crying again.

"What happened, Ms. Swan, is that I got a call from one of the other parents reporting that your daughter had called another student a very inappropriate name. Normally I would not bother in these matters but since you work here this is a matter I need to personally investigate into." The blonde cocks her head to the side with eyes narrowed in an accusatory manner.

"A bad name?" Isabella shoots the seven year old a questionable look. "What bad name did you call someone, Nessie," she asks in a demanding tone. She closes the distance between her and her daughter and squats down to her level.

The little girl mumbles something unintelligibly through wet lips as she begins to sob harder. The only words that were able to be made out was the occasional 'I'm sorry.'

Isabella could see the other woman straighten into a stand and take a few steps closer to the first grade teacher from her peripheral.

"Well since she seems incapable of doing so I will repeat what the mother told me." Rosalie clears her throat as she produces a piece of notepaper from her pantsuit pocket. "She said, and I quote, 'Ew Johnathan that's gross you can't be a fag.'" She looks at Isabella with raised eyebrows over the sheet of paper.

Isabella gawks at her then at her daughter. "You said what? Where did you even learn that word from? Nessie you better answer me when I'm talking to you."

"Some people said it during recess last week," she manages through trembling sobs.

"And do you know what that means?" The young mother presses further.

The small girl hesitates only for a moment before answering. "It's when a boy likes another boy, right? A boy named Steven told me about it."

"That's, only partially correct. That word is used for when two boys like each other very much but it's very, very rude to say to them. I never want to hear you utter those words again, Nessie. Do you understand?"

She nods.

"They are a little different than you and I, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with a boy liking a boy, or a girl liking a girl. And if anyone ever tries to tell you otherwise that's absolutely incorrect."

Hiccupping while wiping the remaining tears, Nessie nods again.

"Good. Now go wait for me directly outside the office door. I will come fetch you when I am finished speaking to Ms. Hale. And you better believe that we are discussing this more when we get home." Isabella waits for the small figure of her daughter to disspear out of her sight as she walks through the door. The young mother pinches the bridge of her nose in an attempt to ward off an oncoming headache.

The days just keep getting longer and longer.

"A little different from you and I?" Rosalie remarks with an eyebrow perched. She circles back around and seats herself at the desk, keeping that hooded gaze on the brunette the entire time. The young mother notes that something about the woman's dark gaze seems to place her on edge.

"Well, yes it is a little different from the norm."

This only causes both of the other woman's eyebrows to shoot up with an incredious look. "And what exactly would you define as the norm, Ms. Swan. You've peaked my interest. Please, inform me." And just like that the challenging look was back in the other woman's eyes.

Isabella had seen this same look during the teacher's meetings. This woman positively oozed an authoritative demeanor and clearly would not take no for an answer. But the young mother had just narrowly escaped termination the other day, and didn't want to walk that fine line again. She curbs her rising irritation with a heavy breath exhaled through her nose.

"I'm can assure you that we do not use that type of language at home. She said she learned it from a boy during recess, my daughter has never been known to lie, so I believe that. I will be sure to have a further discussion with her later on to ensure that this will never happen again."

The blonde studies the brunette's face with sincerity before humming in apporoval. "You would be wise to do that, Ms. Swan."

Isabella mentally highfives herself for getting herself out of possibly enraging the principal further.

Rosalie seems to contemplate something as her gaze flits over to the door then back to the brunette. "I'm curious; your daughter is darker than you are."

"Excuse me?" Isabella did not mean for it to come out as venomously as it did but getting defense over her only child was a habit of the woman's. "What exactly are you implying?" She askes when the blonde doesn't so much as flinch at her tone of voice.

"I implied nothing. It was merely an observation." She states in an almost bored tone as she begins to collect some loose files on her desk.

"Yeah, well it's the twenty-first century and this may come as a surpise but people are allowed to date and marry outside of their race."

There s a pregnant pause as Rosalie takes her time sorting her papers and tucking them neatly into the small suitbag she had brought in with her. She still says nothing as she slips on her jacket and pushes her chair in. Then, finally, those dark gray eyes find purchase with the brunette ones in from of her. Those long legs close their gap in just three short strides. Rosalie leans down to the mother's ear and Isabella can feel her breath ghosting the outer shell of her ear.

"Well, it _is_ a little bit different from the norm."

Isabella didn't need to look at the other woman's face to feel the smug attitude that surrounded her entire being as the woman's heels clicked past her. "Do me a favor dear, and close the door when you leave."


	4. Chapter 4

**I apologize for the slight delay, I'm trying to keep a good distance between the chapter I post and the one's already written. Unfortunately because of fast updating and chapter 5 being the biggest pain to write, I caught up.**

 **As always thank you for your kind words, follows, and favs.**

 **Not Beta'd all mistakes are mine. Admittedly I've had less time to reread this one so I apologize in advance.**

Isabella hesitates in front of the vice-principal's door with her hand poised to knock. She didn't know why she was nervous exactly. The young mother had been reassured time and time again that the blond haired man lived up to his southern hospitality. She had supposed it had something to do with the fact that he was still related to, who she had recently re-nicknamed, Satan on heels. Her blood begins to boil again just thinking about the gull of that woman. Never in her life had she been so wound up over a single person, and that says a lot since her ex was arguably worse to deal with. The blonde terror just seemed to know exactly which buttons to push or how to get under the first grade teacher's skin. Isabella was more than positive that the only reason she had not been fired yet was because Rosalie was keeping her around to keep playing whatever game she had started.

But it takes two to tangle. If she wanted to see what the brunette could do, Isabella was more than willing to show her.

She points her chin with newfound confidence and rapts on the door three times. She waits less than a minute before the door is swung wide open, and she is greeted with a warm smile from the older gentleman.

"Ah, Ms. Swan. What a pleasure to formally meet you. Please do come in," he moves out of the way and gestures to the chair he wants her to sit in. Once she had entered he wastes no time in then pulling out the, very plush might she add, chair and pushing her back in.

"Can I get you anything to drink? Water perhaps?"

"Water is excellent, thank you."

He nods as he busies himself collecting the cups and fetching the pitcher out of the fridge. Only once he had made sure she didn't need anything else did he finally take his own seat.

This was the first time Isabella had met the man personally, and is reassured by the fact that he seemingly lived up to the rumors. His hair was longer than the average male, but she found that is still looked masculine with its loose dusty blond waves. Like his sister, Jasper's eyes were that same steal gray. These eyes, however, were surrounded by laugh lines that softened his look considerably. Isabella couldn't help but to notice the well-defined arms poorly concealed in the white button-up's sleeves.

The young mother could certainly see the appeal he had with the female, and some male, teachers at the school.

"Again, I must apologize for not having the chance to sit down and speak with you earlier. I usually make it a point to personally introduce myself to ever teacher at the school. Unfortunately I've been on a short leash and up to my eyeballs in paperwork so I haven't been able to clear my schedule until now," he explains with that distinct southern twang.

"It's not a problem at all, truly."

He smiles crookedly. "Well, I'm glad to hear. How have you been enjoying the school so far, Ms. Swan?"

"It's been great so far. I really like what this school aims to do with the students that attend here. The staff is fantastic as well. I've had very little problems fitting in around here."

"That's fantastic news," he comments with a slight raise of his eyebrows. "And have you met the principal yet?"

She can't help the scoff that escapes her but manages to control the eyeroll. "Oh, we're well acquainted."

At this, he laughs generously. "Yes she can be rather, difficult, to be around from time to time. I assure you that she usually has the best intentions in mind. If I've learned anything in the thirty-one years I've known her, is to try not to step on her toes too much," he winks.

Isabella allows herself a small chuckle. There were many things she wanted to say about the she-devil but perhaps her blood relative was not the proper person to voice her displeasure. Instead, she sticks to the safe route. "I'll do my best. Are you two close?"

"Rosalie and I? As close as a pair of twins could be."

"You're twins?" She blanches. If anything, she imagined that Rosalie was much younger than that. Logically, for the position she's in she had to at least be that old. But to her credit she has been aging fantastically; didn't look a day over twenty, really. Meanwhile the young mother had felt like she had been steadily aging since she turned twenty an eternity ago. As a matter of fact, she had found a single strand of gray hair this morning trying to brush back her unruly mane. This was simple something else to add to the growing list of things she did not like about the blonde.

"Yes Ma'am. Don't worry, I don't think anyone would come to that conclusion when they look at us. We're nearly complete opposites; from our gender down to our personalities." He laughs again. "But we've been practically inseparable since birth. What about you, Ms. Swan, any siblings by chance?"

"No, unfortunately I'm an only child. My parent's had a hard enough time conceiving me so I was a miracle child of sorts."

He nods in acknowledgment as he sips from his water. She takes this time to strike.

"I would like to ask a question, however. While I am in love with the school and the people who work here I do find that I am running into a small issue."

He regards her with a curious look and motions for her to continue.

"I find that my first graders, and the others as well, have not been preforming well on their exams. Although standardized testing is good in some regards, and have their merits, I just don't think they are old enough to be handed some of these materials. I have first graders that are already too stressed to come to class, or sleeping during lessons because they were up late trying to do their homework or studying."

He leans back into his chair with a thoughtful look. "Yes, I can definitely see how that may be a bigger issue in the near future. Unfortunately, that is what the educational board is requiring that we do for now. You are more than welcome to try to write a letter to said board and try to get their attention on this matter," he suggests kindly.

"Yes I thought about that too. But it might take entirely too long for them to get back to me and my students need help right now at this very moment. Already grades are dropping dramatically and we are at a loss in regards to what we can do to help them excel in the first grade. So I would like to propose something."

"Something?"

Isabella slides the manilla folder that had been concealed in her lap until now onto the surface of the table. Jasper wastes no time in picking it and inspecting the contents inside.

"I took the time to write out a new curriculum. It still includes everything that the board wants to be taught, but I think this new design does a better job without all the tests. It would cut them by two-thirds, which reduces the time we spend on grading, which gives us more time to personally interact with our students better. With permission of course, I would like to pilot this in my classroom and have my students ready for the first round of state testing in December."

She waits with baited breath as Jasper's eyes quickly scan over a few pieces of her work. After a pregnant pause he finally raises his gaze back to hers.

"Well, I'm not against this per-say. I've only done a very brief read, but I assume you are aware that a lot of the things that you are suggesting go right up against Rosalie's method of teaching? This could potentially get you in a lot of trouble. May even lose your job if I'm being very blunt with you." He warns, but not unkindly.

"With all due respect, sometime rules and methods must be challenged to provide the best to our children. For them, I am absolutely willing to take that risk. Teaching as always been much more than a paycheck to me."

Jasper studies her again but Isabella could see a twinkle of mischievousness in his eyes and a slow spreading smile. "I see. And I can only assume that you came to me because you knew it would immediately be shot down by my sister?"

She hesitates, but nods. He still held that expression on his face so Isabella could only assume that he was not at all offended, but amused, impressed even.

"I can make no promises, Ms. Swan, but I will give this a thorough read in my free time and will email you when I have reached a conclusion."

The young mother could not help the smile that nearly threatens to spilt her cheeks. "Thank you so much for even considering it. I can't explain to you how much this means to me."

He helps her out of his seat and leads her to this office door. "My pleasure, Ms. Swan."

* * *

"Oh my goodness, you've met him?" Alice eyes widen comically when Isabella shares the details about her meeting with the blond man earlier today with the art teacher during their recess duty.

"Yeah, and you guys were right; he's such a gentleman. I was feeling a little smitten by the end of our meeting myself. Or maybe that was only because he seemed willing to go behind his sister's back and work with me." Isabella shrugs.

"You don't mean that you like him, like him right? You're pretty chill Swan but I would never be able to forgive you if you stole my future man from me."

"Oh dear god no. He's charming, but not my type. You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

Alice narrows her eyes in suspicion. "Not your type? He's literally sex on legs."

"Alice," the young mother hisses. "We are surrounded by little kids right now. I know it's hard for you to do, but please keep your language under control."

"Yeah whatever. Point is, this man is undeniably attractive to any female who has two functioning eyes. Hell, I don't even think you need eyes to sense this man's perfectly sculpted being."

The brunette shrugs. "He is good looking, I'm just not attracted to him."

"Are you gay?"

Isabella sputters at the bluntness of Alice's question. She looks around quickly to make sure no one around them had heard the other woman. "Alice!" She hisses for the second time that evening. "Language!"

"Oh my goodness. Gay is not a bad word." Alice looks at her incredulously. "And I guess that answers my question."

"I'm not saying that it's a bad word, but my daughter recently has been exposed to that word and it has been a topic of discussion in my home these last few nights. It's not something I wanted to expose her to at such an early age."

"You're sounding a little homophobic right now Bella, not gonna lie. Is this something you're not comfortable with? Because I've had my fair share of run in's with some woman in college. I'd be lying if I told you that I didn't enjoy them as much as the men."

The young mother waves a dismissive hand. "No, nothing like that."

Alice regards her with a look that shows she is not convinced.

"Honestly I'm not," she tries again. "I'm just not very comfortable discussing it with my daughter because I don't know what to say. What if she asks me if it's ok if she could like another girl?"

"You would answer…?"

"Yes, obviously I would tell her that's ok. But as a mother I would prefer if she wasn't that way because it's undoubtedly a harder life to live in this type of society. People can be really, really, cruel these days. For crying out loud a little boy was being harassed the other day being called the 'f' word. That has got to be traumatizing for them. I don't want my little girl to deal with that type of discrimination throughout her life."

Alice seems to think about this for a moment. "Alright. I don't have kids so I guess I didn't think of it that way. Now that you mention it, it makes a lot more sense to me why parents may think that way. But, if she just so happens to fall anywhere on the spectrum-"

"I would support her one-hundred percent." Isabella finishes for her.

Alice smiles a little; reassured at the conviction in the older woman's voice, before focusing her attention back on the job they were suppose to be doing in the first place.

Isabella follows her line of sight to her only daughter currently playing on one of the three jungle gyms. The little boy from her class, Edward, was also there saying something that had Nessie laughing as if it were the best joke she had ever heard in her life.

"Looks like you may not have to worry about it though," Alice commented.

The mother rolls her eyes. "Over my dead body. Why won't you just ask Jasper out anyway?"

"Why? Because I'm just some plain jane looking, eccentric art teacher with a twisted sense of humor. I'm great to be friends with, if I may toot my own horn, but I'm not that easy to date according my exes." Her gaze drops as her lips press together. "And he's way too perfect. So, that's not happening in my life time."

"Alice, first of all you can't take your exes words for anything. They're usually pretty bitter and say untrue things at the end of every breakup. Secondly, I think you're fantastic and really cute. If I swung that way I would totally date you."

"I don't know Swan, the jury is still out on you," she laughs half-heartedly.

"I'm being serious you need to ask him out. The absolute worst thing that can happen is that he says no, and you two continue not to see each other and go about your lives." Isabella eyes the skeptical expression on Alice's face. "C'mon, what do you have to be afraid of?" She presses a little more.

Alice sighs and runs a hand through her meticulously styled faux disheveled hair. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I should just do it. See, I knew that there was a good reason I needed to become friends with you. I'll even let you join on a threesome with us." She throws her head back in that signature laughter.

Isabella feels the heat building from the base of her neck. "Alice!"

* * *

Before she knew it, the week was finally crawling to an end.

The teacher's night had went by in what seemed like a blur for the mother. She had thought it was going to be traditional in the sense that it would be like a one on one meeting with all the teachers. It turned out, however, to be a get together of sorts in the school's cafeteria; accompanied with refreshments and light music. All of the teachers and parents crowded together in the modest sized room and spent time fraternizing with each other. All teachers where separated into smaller groups based on grade to help the parents navigate better.

Isabella had honestly lost track of how many hands she had to shake, boring small talk she had to put up with, and the inevitable assault of questions pertaining to their children's grades. She figured she handled and pacified them well enough since they all left with relatively pleased looks on their faces.

Isabella sighs for the umpteenth time that night, risking a glance at the clock on the adjacent wall. Only ten minutes left to go and she could go home and curl up in her bed. The week had dragged by painfully slow and the only thing she wanted to do was to rest her slightly swollen ankles.

"You look like you're ready to collapse on your feet, girl." Eric eyes her up and down once or twice before handing her a cup of water. Their section was devoid of parents and she hoped and prayed that no one else would come in the remaining minutes.

"That would be a pretty accurate assessment, Yorkie."

"Oh sassy, I'm into that type of thing."

"Aren't you still in deep water with Angela?" She playfully punches his shoulder with a lazy smirk. "I don't think that's something she would be too keen on hearing."

"No need to worry about that, Alice told her about your lack of attraction towards Jasper so they have a running bet on your sexuality. The tiny terror is convinced you're a lesbian but Angela argues that you're asexual." He laughs.

"Okay first of all they would booth lose that bet. Not only that, but I hardly see how this is an appropriate conversation for a teacher's meeting," her eyes flicker around the room to make sure that no one else was in hearing distance. "What if I reported you guys for such unprofessionalism?"

"Yeah right," he scoffs. "You would sooner walk through a mile of hot coals before going to Rosalie with any of your issues."

She groans.

"Exactly, my point has been proven. Speaking of which, do we have a revenge plan going on or what. I'm one hundred percent into-" he stops abruptly. The brunette can see him stiffen from her peripheral. She was ready to ask what had happened before following his line of sight.

"Hello." A woman in her mid-forties approach the pair. Carmel brown hair was pulled into an elegant high bun with a few loose strands falling to frame a perfect tear drop face. She gazes at Isabella with half lidded eyes framed with thick eyelashes. If she had heard the conversation held between the two teachers she made no indication of it.

"Hello ma'am it's a pleasure to meet you," Eric smiles and offers his hand in greeting. "My name is Eric Yorkie and this is Isabella Swan." Isabella extends her hand with a kind smile but she could only hope it carried to her eyes. They had only been a few short minutes away from being able to close up shop and go home. She resists the urge to groan out loud for the second time in ten minutes."

"Likewise," she replies. "My husband," she gestures to a platinum blond haired man across the room, "and I would have to apologize for coming in at such a late time." Her honey brown orbs flicker over the watch fastened to her slim wrist. "He just finished a shift at the hospital and we simply could not afford to miss such an important meeting." She smiles kindly at Isabella but the mother couldn't help but to feel slightly on edge.

Eric, as if sensing her discomfort, clears his throat rather loudly. "If you have any questions I would be more than happy to answer anything for you."

She laughs lightly. "Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I just need to speak to this young woman actually. Privately, that is."

Eric looks between the two women with hesitation. "Are you sure there isn't anything I can also be of assistance with?" He tries again.

"I'm afraid not."

"If you would like to speak privately my room is right down the hall we could head there." Even as she says this, Isabella could feel her heart sinking further and further. Her dreams of being able to get out of here on time were being dashed by the second. Not to mention the longer she spent here, the more she would have to pay the babysitter when she got home. She internally scolds herself for choosing the hourly charge instead of the all evening flat charge.

"Yes, I feel as that may be satisfactory." The woman's smile is dazzling. Isabella takes pause as she observes the woman a little closer. She most certainly looked like someone she knew, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Please follow me."

The walk to her room was spent listening to the resounding clicks of the other woman's heels in the deserted hallway. Isabella prayed to whatever deity out there that this would not take up too much of her time, and would instead just be a friendly meeting between teacher and parent. The woman's rather extravagant look was making the first grade teacher think that it was going to be anything but.

She fumbles to unlock the door in the poorly lit corridor.

"Please," Isabella gestures for the woman to enter has she hastily flips the lights on. She had barely shuts the door before the other woman turns to face her abruptly, her smile only faltering slightly.

"I would like to thank you for agreeing to speak to me on such short notice. Allow me to properly introduce myself; my name is Esme Cullen. I work as a registered nurse at a hospital not too far from here."

Cullen, why did that name sound so familiar?

"Anyway," she continues, "my son, Edward is in your class if I'm not mistaken?"

Isabella does her best not to let the surprise show on her face. No wonder the woman had looked so familiar; Edward had her face shape and that same shade of honey brown in his own eyes. "Ah yes, he has been a pleasure to have in my class so far. Great kid."

Esme hums. "Yes, that's how we intended to raise him."

The young mother could not tell if she meant that in a snarky manner or not but she maintains the smile on her face the best she could. The sooner she could appease this woman, the sooner she could leave.

"Is there any concern?"

Esme leans slightly on the teacher's desk. "Not yet, but I want to ensure that there isn't. I don't mean to be unkind, Ms. Swan, so please don't take this the wrong way. I have reviewed the curriculum many times and have received some of his grades back and it does call for a little concern." She pulls her lower lip between her teeth and worries it slightly; brows creasing slightly in concentration. "We want to raise Edward to be as well rounded as possible, but I find that his school work has been taking over his extra school activities. He barely has time to maintain his piano and soccer lessons because he must devote so much time to reviewing flashcards."

She inclines her head. "It's a bit excessive, don't you think?"

"I agree with you completely," the brunette shakes her head slightly. "It's entirely too much for children this age. Unfortunately the board has set the standards and us teachers are near powerless to do anything about the work load at the moment."

"Yes I understand. But the board only sets the standardized testing standards, which are held in December and May. How you achieve those standards are at the discretion of the school," she argues. "Which means you guys have more control over how _much_ work is being assigned. And frankly, it's too much."

"Trust me I understand completely. I have a daughter the exact same age in the class right down the hall. We too spend a lot of time going over flashcards and lettering exercises." Isabella runs her hand through her hair. She understood the mother's concerns well enough for they mirrored her own, but she could never understand why they always come to the teachers with these issues. They were damn near on the bottom of the power hierarchy and could virtually change nothing.

"Can the teachers not petition to the principal at this school?" Esme presses further.

Isabella opens her mouth to explain further but was interrupted by another visitor.

"Ah, I was afraid you had run off."

The brunette didn't need to turn around to know who that sultry voice belonged too. She had been floating around all night but tended to avoid the first grade area so Isabella was confident she could go the entire night without running into her. Wishful thinking. Of course someone was bound to come looking for her eventually. And of course, with her luck, it was her.

Isabella forces a smile towards Rosalie's direction.

Even after a long evening of mingling with many parents the blonde woman still maintained a near flawless look. Her skirt wasn't even wrinkled, Isabella noticed as her eyes lingered on those endless legs for a touch longer than she would have liked.

"And you are?" Esme asks, looking between the teacher and principal.

"Rosalie Hale, it's a pleasure to meet you." Her voice was dripping with forced sickly sweet kindness and if they didn't have another guest in the room Isabella would have rolled her eyes. She resists the urge.

The parent looks confused for just a second before recognition dawns on her face. "Ah yes! I recognize your name, you must be the principal of this school."

"You would be correct." Rosalie confirms.

"Well, you may be better prepared to answer my questions then."

"Of course I would be. I'm afraid Ms. Swan doesn't know much of anything so you'll have to excuse her." The blonde slides a challenging look toward said woman's direction.

Isabella bites the inside of her cheek to curb the rude remark that was ready to fly past her lips. This woman was absolutely insufferable. Instead, the first grade teacher crosses her arms under her chest and refocuses her gaze on Esme to avoiding the hard gaze of the other woman.

"I did just begin this year so I am admittedly not as knowledgeable of the inner workings of this building as others may be." She admits reluctantly.

"Quite." Her boss chimes. "Unfortunately Ms. Cullen it is well past the parent teacher time, and due to state laws I must ask that you withhold your questions for another time. I am more than willing to pass along my contact information. You may call me first thing in the morning if you so please."

Esme seems unsure for a moment, but something in the gaze of the blonde woman seems to give her pause. She sighs in defeat. "I suppose it can't be helped when arriving at such a late hour." The mother accepts the business card from Rosalie. She turns to give Isabella one last look, in which the expression was unreadable, before leaving her line of sight completely.

The young mother releases a breath she did not know she was holding. One look at the other woman in the room has her catching it again.

She looked absolutely _irate._

"Are you insane?" The blonde hisses between clenched teeth, a vein in her neck soon becoming pronounced against the pale skin.

Shocked by the swift change in attitude Isabella can only blink back in response. She seemed even angrier than when Nessie spilled hot chocolate on her all those weeks ago, and that was a hard one to top.

Rosalie doesn't wait for her to respond. "Never again under _any_ circumstances do you leave the conference room without permission; especially without telling anyone where you are going. Are you aware of how many crazy people there are in this world or have you just been living under a rock this entire time?" Her angry eyes flicker all over the brunette's face before settling on her eyes.

"Woah, why are you flying off the handle? She was just another concerned parent who wanted to have a little one on one." Logically, she knew that the principal's argument actually held a lot of merit, but she'd rather roll over in her grave than to see that smug knowing look on her face again.

"Yeah well, a few years back another teacher wanted to help a 'concerned' parent and things didn't end to well for her. I'm sure even you can piece together the rest of the story."

"She was another woman," the brunette argues weakly. She was losing the argument.

Rosalie seems to sense this too and scoffs, stepping admittedly too close. So close in fact, Isabella could feel her breath ghosting on her face with every exhale. It was a move that was meant to intimidate the young mother and she knew it. But the nerve of the woman, coupled with the dangerously low amount of sleep she had made the young mother snap.

"You seem to enjoy getting awfully close, Rosalie. If I didn't know better I would believe all those rumors of you fancing other woman. Perhaps I should be more afraid of being alone in a room with you. I would even argue that you want to kiss me right now, don't you?" Isabella taunts. She was stooping to a level that was entirely too low for her standards but she had had it with the blonde this week.

Rosalie's eyebrows practically shoot up too her hairline as an indignant laugh leaves her mouth. "What do you think your ordinary looks swept me off from my feet when I first met you?" She steps impossibly closer and Isabella can feel the swell of the other woman's breasts push up against hers. For some inexplicable reason this cuases the burnette to blush furiously at the intimate contact. She wanted to back up, but found her back flush with the wall behind her.

When had that happened?

"My patience runs ever so thin with you, Swan." She whispers; voice taking on a huskier quality that leaves the brunette's neck tingling ever so slightly. The smell of the other woman was invading her nose at such a close proximity.

She finds it hard to breathe properly.

And even harder to think properly.

Rosalie leans slightly so that her lips were nearly ghosting the shell of the young mother's ear. Similarly to the other day. Only this time she was _much_ closer.

"And make no mistake. If I wanted you, I would have you."

Isabella did not know what effect those words were suppose to have on her. What she does know, however, is that it sends a wave a pleasure throughout her body before settling between her legs. She gasps at not only the obseridy of her reaction, but also to the blunt confidence of the blonde's words.

Seemingly pleased, Rosalie backs up to finally give them space; that damn smug firmly back on her face. "I think this is the last time I will stand for you flippant disrespect of both the school rules, and myself." Her gazes hardens in a predatory glare. "Consider this your final warning." She does not wait for a response before leaving the brunette shaken in the quiet room.

* * *

It had taken entirely too long to help the other teachers clean up the room. Even longer for her to find her car in the parking lot and drive home. She pays the babysitter the amount due, apologizing profusely for being late.

Shrugging off her coat, she hangs it on the banister, and slowly makes her way up the stairs. Her body was protesting heavily. When she makes it to the second floor hall she hesitates for only a moment before prying open Nessie's door.

The little girl was sleeping soundly, that hideous teddy bear tucked firmly under her arm.

Isabella sits as gently as she can on the edge of the bed. Leaning over she kisses her daughter's forehead while tucking a few stands of hair behind her door. Nessie's face softens into a more peaceful expression.

For a moment, Isabella forgets about all of her problems; Jacob, the school, and most certainly Rosalie.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you everyone for all your kind words, they really brightened my day! This is a shorter chapter than usual you'll have to excuse me. Also a small heads up. There's been a lot of tension built up in the story so far so expect a break from it next chapter.**

 **Also I have begun working on a new dark fic for this pairing and I can not wait for you guys to read it. It's something that completely takes me out of my comfort zone when it comes to writing but I have high hopes for it!**

 **Not beta'd all mistakes are mine.**

Isabella could almost scream with how happy she was this particular Monday morning. Ordinarily, the brunette would be rushing herself and her daughter out the door to make it to school on time. But today was her day off since it was a professional development day for the education board. Principals from all schools in the district were required to attend a two day conference, so it meant that the teachers and students were taking the following days off.

She rolls over and shoves her face into the pillow with a content sigh. Her third week was officially done and over with and it had been an incredibly taxing time for the new teacher. She closes her eyes in an attempt to savor how good the weight of the comforter felt around her, how her body seemed to melt perfectly in the memory form mattress topper.

She couldn't relax for long however, Nessie would surely be up within the hour. Unlike adults, children seemed to have no concept of a 'taking a day off,' or a healthy appreciation for sleeping in. Isabella debates between getting up and making a proper breakfast, or just pouring them both a bowl of cereal and calling it a day. She was leaning more towards the cereal, but then again, it had been a while since either one of them have had a proper meal for rushing around nearly every morning only left enough time for toasted bread. On fancy days they even used jam.

She decides on eggs and bacon.

Twenty minutes later, her daughter comes stumbling down the stairs with wild hair and sleep ridden eyes. The young mother smirks inwardly for she knew the only thing that could force her come downstairs from the confines of her bedroom was the overwhelming smell of breakfast. She was just like her father in tat regard. During the earlier stages of their dating, Isabella had been positive that the only thing that could stir the man from his slumber was the smell of food; more specifically, bacon. Arguably, food could have motivated that man to do anything and everything within reason.

"Good morning sleepy head, did you sleep well?" She asks while putting a spoonful of scrambled eggs on the little girl's plate. Omelets would have been the more interesting breakfast choice but she had damn near burned the house down the last time she had tried to make that.

Nessie accepts the food wordlessly. Again, just like her father, she was never one for any conversation in her early waking stages. Isabella knew she would have to wait at least another fifteen minutes to get any other response but a grunt. Trying anything before that was futile and akin to talking to a brick wall; except the brick wall would probably have more to say. The young mother rolls her eyes playfully as she heaps a healthy portion onto her own plate. She slides into the chair opposite of her daughter and silently begins eating her own breakfast. She manages to finish early but instead of getting up to wash the dishes she instead decides to watch Nessie when the sound of her fork scraping against the plate catches her attention.

Before becoming a parent the brunette probably would have thought it was the weirdest thing to do; stare at your own child. But it still enthralled her to think that she created another life. Nessie bore a striking resemblance to Jacob, they even shared the same caramel colored skin. Her jet black hair was extremely curly, and during the early mornings it became an untamed bird's nest that took nothing less than a prayer to untangle. The only thing she had in common with her daughter's physical appearance were the same doe brown eyes and heart shape face.

Even through all of her pouting and occasional tantrums, she was the most perfect thing to have ever existed in Isabella's world.

Nessie crinkles her nose. "Mom your staring is weirding me out."

The young mother laughs as she collects both of their plates. "I was not staring," she lies. "I was merely thinking about how silly the line of dried slobber on your face looks."

On cue, the little girl's eyes fly open in alarm. "Nu-uh!" Even as she exclaims her disbelief, Nessie is already scrambling out of the chair to go wash her face.

By the time she emerges five minutes later, Isabella was comfortably situated on the couch watching the early morning cartoons. She wouldn't dare admit to anyone that she actually enjoyed watching these shows with her daughter.

The little girls pads over and wordlessly tucks herself into her mother's side on the couch.

"You did really well on your test," Isabella breaks the momentary silence. "I'm proud of you."

"That's because I studied extra _extra_ hard."

Isabella hums her agreement. "Yes I know. You've been doing so well; getting up with mommy every day to go to school early, staying late, coming home and doing your homework without me asking to," she ticks off the items off her list on by one. "I think you may deserve a reward of some sort. How does icecream sound?"

Nessie's face brightens instantly but then crinkles shorty after. "Yeah but, I got you in trouble with that pretty lady two times," she pouts.

Isabella's smile falters for just a moment. Not at her daughter, but at the thought of that infuriating woman entering her thoughts again. Against her will, she begins to blush furiously at the memory from the teacher's meeting that transpired a few nights ago. Rosalie had just been _so_ close and for some strange reason it had completely unraveled her. She was sure there had to be a logical reason for her absurd reaction, but even after racking her brain all weekend she had failed to come up with a good one. It had only served to fuel her dislike of the other woman.

"Well, she's not a very nice lady so I suppose it's alright." Isabella reasons with the first grader.

The little girl studies her mother with a confused expression. "What do you mean? I think she's nice. I think I would be pretty mad too if someone spilled chocolate on me. And when I um, got in trouble she didn't yell at me. Before she called you in, she sat me down and esplained to me,"

"Explained," Isabella gently corrects.

" _Explained_ to me what the word meant and why it's not a nice word. She told me that sometimes people can't help who they like. She also said that even if Greg really did like other boys that I should treat him no different from my other friends." Nessie finishes with a slight expression of admiration twinkling in her eyes.

The young mother holds back the scoff threatening to slip past her lips. If only she knew about how the blonde devil treated her mother she may have different opinions about the older woman. To her credit, the brunette was a little surprised to hear that she handled Nessie so gently after the incident, and even took the time to explain as well. She had only assumed the blonde had harshly lectured the little girl in her absence.

Nessie seems to think about something in great detail for a few moments before voicing it out loud. "It was very mean of me to make fun of him. I just wanted to fit in with the other kids I think. But I shouldn't have made fun of him."

Isabella smiles softly, touched by her daughter's ability to feel sympathy for others. "It was mean of you to do that, yes. But you now see why it was wrong and you learned from it, and that's the most important part." She strokes the girl's tangled hair before leaning in to place a kiss on her forehead.

"So," she tries again to lighten the mood after the brief pause that followed their rather serious conversation. "What do you think about going to get some hot chocolate today?"

Nessie smiles a toothy grin; instantly brightening up again.

* * *

Later that evening, she was feeling incredibly restless.

Isabella had finally managed to put Nessie to bed a little over an hour ago. She had been dragged all over the city by the younger girl today who had insisted that they spend more time together. The young mother had been happy to oblige, of course, but this extended weekend was not shaping up to be the relaxing one that she had envisioned it to be.

She needed to decompress desperately.

When she had run into Jane at the café earlier today, she had rashly asked if the girl had wanted to make a few extra bucks watching her daughter tonight. At the time she wasn't sure where she wanted to go, but after some debate she decided to get a small workout in for the week for the first time in months.

Isabella sighs as she nurses the small glass of wine she had poured herself earlier that night. Ordinarily, she wasn't too big on drinking but she figured now was as good time as any to break out the bottle. Truthfully, she had just wanted to savor the taste of the expensive drink and had decided to sip off one small glass over the course of three hours.

She had liked her job so far, and absolutely enjoyed the presence of some of her co-workers who were quickly on their way to becoming some of her newer friends. But it was also stressful; not only for her, but also for her students. The young mother had also been checking her phone insistently waiting for Jasper's response. So far, she had heard nothing from the wavy blond haired man. And yet she held onto the hope that he would pull through for her. She had seen the kindness in his eyes as well as the mischievous twinkle they held when he promised that he would review it.

Another sip of wine.

Although, if he did accept it would open up a new can of worms. Her piloting a secret course would mean she was going right up against Ms. Hale. If she failed in her mission, her time as an educator in Los Angeles will be as good as over. The fiery blonde would have no qualms in seeming that the brunette be removed from her position and be barred from future ones.

" _And make no mistake. If I wanted you, I would have you."_

Isabella could feel her face heating up once more as the memory of Friday night begins to replay. She was sure that the blonde had been joking, it was in her nature to try to rile the young mother up. Rosalie had probably assumed that she was uncomfortable around queer people, which regrettably seemed to be a general consensus going around, and only said that to see if she could get a reaction. Isabella was pissed, sure, and some part of her registered that it was _highly_ inappropriate conduct to be held at work. But she wasn't that mad at the blonde.

She was more upset with herself.

No matter how hard she tried, she could not forget the sensation she felt after those words were husked into her ear. Not even Jacob was able to elicit that kind of reaction from her; no matter how hard he tried, or how romantic he could be at times.

The brunette had to practically jump into a cold shower when she got home just to cool down. She refused to touch herself with the thought of that woman lingering in her mind.

Still, it unnerved her to no end. What did this mean? Isabella knew she was not into woman. Never have been and never will be. And yet…

She shakes her head before downing the rest of the contents in the glass.

It had been a fluke.

It has been such a long time since she had been pleased in any way, so her body was just naturally reacting to a physical stimulus. Surely, many other people have experienced this some time in their lives. A quick google search in her phone proved this to be true.

Feeling much better about herself, the young mother stands to wash the now empty glass. A timid knock on her front door, however, makes her quickly abandon that thought.

"Good evening, Ms. Swan," Jane smiles pleasantly when Isabella opens the front door.

She mirrors the young girl's smile with her own as she steps to the side to let the teenager in.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Jane. I hope I didn't ruin any plans?" Isabella fills a glass with water and offers it to the barista.

Jane's musical laughter fills the room as she accepts the beverage. "Oh no, not at all. A lot of other seniors like to go out and party but I'd much rather be curled up with a good book. Or watching Nessie for you." She smiles warmly.

"Well I think you'll be pleased to know that you have an incredibly easy job tonight. Nessie has already been put to bed so you'll just here to make sure nothing goes wrong. If she wakes up please send her right back to bed. I don't know who instilled it in her, but the girl thinks weekends are time for her to stay up and eat junk food."

They share a brief chuckle.

"You have nothing to work about Ms. Swan, I'll make sure everything stays in tip top shape until you return. And if you don't mind me asking, where are you headed off to tonight?"

"Not at all. I'm just headed to the gym for a little bit."

Jane laughs softly. "Judging by how you look now I would argue that it's totally unnecessary."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Jane." Isabella shrugs on her windbreaker with a smile, then slings the gym bag over her shoulder. "You have my number and I put emergency contacts on the fridge. I'll be walking since the gym is not too far, so I suspect that I won't be gone for more than three hours or so."

The barista nods her head in acknowledgement. "Aye aye captain."

Isabella wishes her well as she slips out the front door and into the brisk fall air. It was a little nippier this night but it was nothing she couldn't handle.

She zips her jacket up.

Isabella was never much of a gym person to begin with. One year, she had made a silly bet with one of her friends that she would go to the gym as part of her new years resolution. Eager not to allow her friends to gloat about her failure, and fearing that they would actually make here streak through downtown Seattle, she trudged into Forks only gym the first week of the new year.

It was on that fateful night she met Jacob Black.

He had come in and absolutely dazzled her with his pearly whites and easy going demeanor. If love at first sight was something that existed, Isabella was pretty sure she had found it that day. They had been inseparable ever since with Isabella using the gym as an excuse to sneak out and see him.

It had been perfect.

The young mother blinks in confusion when she realized that she was already standing outside of the gym doors. It was only nine-thirty in the evening but the parking lot was almost devoid of any cars. The door chimes as she walks in.

It takes only ten minutes for her to explain to the receptionist that she was simply here to try the gym first before enrolling in a membership, and stow her belongings into the nearest locker. The time away from the gym had left her rusty so she would begin with a simple cardio exercise. If that went well, she would move into light weightlifting.

Like the parking lot, Isabella doesn't see anyone on the floor at first glance. her eyes scan over the multiple cardio machines with indecisiveness before settling on using an elliptical. The young mother was only twenty-eight, but at times she swore she had the knees of a ninety year old former basketball player. Isabella clambers onto the machine and sets the resistance high to begin her ten mile workout.

A grunt breaks her out of her concentration.

The young mother nearly falls off her machine from a mix a surprise and frustration when she sees the blonde principal mere meters away working on weights.

Of course. _Of course_ she would be here.

Isabella couldn't seem to get away from this woman even if she tried. Luckily, Rosalie had not seemed to notice her for she was just out of the range of the mirrored wall. She breathes a small sig of relief for this. Isabella was far too drained to deal with the woman's abrasive attitude tonight. If she stayed over here she could probably avoid any notice until the end of her workout.

With a slight roll of her eyes, the young mother goes back to trying to concentrate on her own run. A type of run light this would have been child's play back in Fork's but the long vacation had turned her muscles back into mush. She was only one mile in and she could feel the seat breaking out along her hairline and lower back.

This focus isn't maintained for long, however. The blonde woman had a very nice build but the young mother had assumed it was natural and never imagined the principal would be someone who came to the gym. Did she actually know what she was doing? Or did Isabella catch her on the first night? The mere thought of being undetected near an unsuspecting Rosalie peaks her curiosity and causes her peer around to try to catch a glimpse of the woman. She secretly hoped it was later. It would be nice to finally see something the other woman did not excel at doing.

She leans a little further over the machine until she could have a full view.

She had seen the principal's form through her notoriously tight fitting attire, but nothing quite compared to the sight in front of her. Rosalie opted for just a sports bra as a top so Isabella could also see the softly defined muscles in her back as well as the prominence of the dimples that peeped out just above the tights' waistband.

Her long tresses were pulled high into a bun that rested at the very top of her head, leaving her long slender neck open for viewing. Just below it sat a bar with undeterminable amount of weight resting partially on her shoulders and supported by her hands. The blonde pauses for a moment to catch her breath before squatting into a low position.

Isabella blinks once. Then twice.

Predictably, her form was flawless.

Rosalie raises from her squat and repeats the previous exercise only this time with a faster reputation. The young mother is rooted to the spot; mesmerized by the way the other woman's muscles ripple under that taunt skin with restrained effort.

Isabella continues to watch with equal parts curiosity and amazement of the aristocratic beauty of the other woman until she is finished with her work out. Rosalie pauses to wipe the sweat from her brow with a towel that was previously tucked into her waistband. Without sparing a glance in her direction, the principal quickly moves from the weight floor to the locker room.

Isabella releases a breath she didn't even know she was holding. Then, she begins to flush with embarrassment as the weight of her actions start to settle in.

She had been ogling, in a very not so friendly way, at the woman who was doing a pretty good job of making her daily life much more difficult than it had to be.

At another _woman._

She dials back the intensity of the elliptical as she enter the cool down mode. The young mother had nothing against people who choose to live their lives that way, and had plenty of queer friends. But she was nothing like them. Isabella had always liked guys since that crush she had on little Scottie in preschool, and her crushes had steadily been men as she progressed into her adulthood. Which was how it was suppose to be. It was in the human instinct to be attractive to the opposite sex and anything otherwise would be to deviate away from the norm.

Not to say that was a bad thing, of course.

So why had the blonde caused such a strange reaction to happen in the young mother? She growls in frustration as she steps off of the cardio machine. After a quickly wiping off the elliptical she heads to the locker room to change into her post workout clothes. It had been at least twenty minutes since the other woman had entered here so there should be no reason as to why she would still be here.

With a slight roll of her eyes Isabella pushes the door to the changing room open. Rosalie had occupied way too much of her thoughts lately and to say that the mother was tiring of it would be a harsh understatement.

Isabella quickly rips off her shirt and sports bra, soon followed by the tights that stuck a little too well to her skin from the sweat.

"Never would have imagined you would be here giving me a strip tease." The smoothness of the other woman's voice causes to young mother to completely freeze. She had been bending over to retrieve a new shirt from her bag and was now painfully aware of the breeze passing her back side, and the fact that she was bent away from the woman.

Flushed with embarrassment Isabella immediately stands up and rips the new shirt one. She decided to forgo the bra. "Don't flatter yourself," the young mother squeaks out when she finally turns around to face the blonde.

Big mistake.

The only thing that covered Rosalie's body from her sight was the thin towel the gym provided, and it was doing an awful job at it. The blonde was only loosing holding it together with one hand which causes nearly half of the swell of her breast to show. On further inspection the brunette notices how dangerously high the towel stops on the leggy woman. It was just _barely_ covering the apex of her thighs.

Isabella was not normally thrown by the image of another naked, or near naked woman; she had seen enough to last her a life time after all. Living in dorms during her college career left little to unknown by the end of the experience. But something about the scantily clad woman in front of her was leaving her very uncomfortable. For some reason, she could not stop her eyes from dancing over the other woman's body and taking in everything that was available to her viewing pleasure. Isabella squeezes her eyes shut after a short moment; her quickening breath and amount of blood circulating through her cheeks had her feeling a little lightheaded.

That, and the fact that she had to reluctantly admit that the blonde somehow looked even better with less clothes on.

"Flattering myself? Ms. Swan I am more than aware of my own appearance and the," she pauses for a moment, "effect that it has on most people." She finishes dryly.

"Where are your clothes and why aren't you dressed?" The young mother forces out after a while when the long stretch of silence meant that the principal was making no move to remedy the situation. She chooses to ignore the implications from the previous statement.

"Someone stole my gym bag," Rosalie comments with a touch of irritability. "When I heard someone else come down I assumed it was the thief coming to return my articles of clothing, but it just turned out to be you."

"Am I not good enough to steal your clothing?"

"You? No, I don't believe you would have the balls to."

Isabella's flash of annoyance causes her to take two large intimidating steps towards the blonde, despite the lack of fabric between the two . "You have no idea what I am capable of," she hisses between clenched teeth.

Rosalie lifts an eyebrow, clearly amused and not at all intimidated by the brunette's antics. This of course further enrages the young mother. Isabella wants nothing more than to forcibly remove the look of confidence from the principal's face. She clenches and unclenches the hands by her side to keep her calm as she heavily contemplates the idea. She couldn't do it. It would likely end with her in jail for assault, and she would lose Nessie.

Seeing the fight leave the young mother's eye Rosalie smirks and steps closer to the other woman. "Just like I said." Another step closer. "You don't have the nerve." Rosalie takes the final step toward the younger woman, the space between their feet was less than an inch or so.

The retort on Isabella's lips die the moment she could feel the older woman's assets press ever so slightly to her front. The contact sends a searing heat throughout her skin, as well as the memory from a few days prior, that rouses a rather uncomfortable feeling that begins to settle at the base of her stomach.

She steps back as though the touch has burned her; refusing to gaze into the blonde's unwavering gaze. Getting way too close seemed to be a hobby of the other woman, a hobby the brunette realized she needed to stop participating in. Rosalie knew that the young mother would become uncomfortable with the contact and back down time after time. Isabella groans. _Of course_ Rosalie had realized this as well a while ago and enjoyed using this particular tactic to shut the mother down and ensure a quick way to the end of the argument. She curses the fact that her neck and face were a worrying shade of red.

"Ok whatever you're right." She says stumbling over her words. Isabella swiftly turns around and pulls an extra clean pair of clothes she had packed today. Thankfully being a mother meant that she always carried multiple pairs of clothing. With a rambunctious child running around you could never been too careful. She had made the unfortunate mistake of not caring a change of clothes around when Nessie had been about one. She had spent the rest of the day running errands with a rather sizeable amount of dried barf on her shirt.

Without looking at the principal she shoves the clothes in her direction. "Just, get dressed for Christ's sake."

When the clothes don't leave her hand after a pregnant pause Isabella risks a glance in the other woman's direction. A look of complete shock has overtaken the other woman's face. It was the first time Isabella had ever seen another aside from a derivative of annoyance on Rosalie's face. It almost made her seem more human.

Almost.

Isabella thrusts them harder, clearly losing her patience.

"You're just going to give them to me to wear?" She asks with a skeptical tone lacing her voice.

"Of course. Even though it would be incredibly entertaining to watch you prance out of here with just a towel on, it would be immoral for me to leave you in this state when I have an extra change of clothes on me." Isabella explains exasperated. "Now please accept and get changed so that I can finally go home and get some much needed rest."

The principal eyes here a moment longer before taking the clothes from the brunette. A small devious smirk plays on her lips. "Oh I think you would quite like the image of me sauntering out of here with just a towel."

Isabella opens and clothes her mouth trying to form some type of rebuttal but after a few seconds of strained silence the young mother decides against it. Isabella turns back around to attend to completing the task of getting dressed herself. Once she was finally dressed she zips up her jacket before turning around to notify the blonde that she does not need to return her clothes.

Rosalie, with her back towards the young mother, was in the process of bending over slightly to put the spare pair of tights on. Unfortunately for Isabella, it gives her more than an eyeful of the other woman's perfected rounded rear.

The heat furiously returns to her cheeks again and the air in the room seems too think. Forgetting what she originally wanted to say to her, Isabella sprints out of the locker room and doesn't stop running until she is a block away from the gym. The cold air bites her skin, but it does nothing to soothe the burning of her cheeks.


End file.
